KAMPALA, Uganda (AP) — The number of mpox -related deaths in Africa has surpassed 1,000, the head of the continent’s top public health agency said Thursday, warning of the continuing threat of cross-border contamination and a lack of rapid test kits.
There were 50 mpox-related deaths in the past week, bringing the total to 1,100, indicating that authorities face a challenge in stemming outbreaks currently affecting 18 of the continent's 55 nations, said Jean Kaseya, director general of the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
“We are still fighting with this outbreak,” Kaseya said. “We don’t want to see all African countries affected.”
Mpox belongs to the same family of viruses as smallpox but causes milder symptoms, including fever, chills and body aches. People with more serious cases can develop lesions on the face, hands, chest and genitals.
Kaseya said the trend shows mpox in Africa “is going out of control if we don’t act,” and urged international partners to honor their pledges to support Africa’s response.
“This is my clear message to our partners. We acknowledge their pledge, but we need quickly to translate pledge into concrete money to support the response," he said.
The estimated budget for a six-month plan put forward by Africa CDC and the World Health Organization is almost $600 million, with 55% allocated to the response to mpox in 14 affected nations and boosting readiness in 15 others.
Zambia and Zimbabwe became the latest African countries to confirm mpox cases in the past week, Kenya recorded its first death from mpox, and a case was confirmed in a prison in central Uganda, according to Africa CDC. The case in Zambia was detected in a truck driver.
Mpox, also known as monkeypox, had been spreading mostly undetected for years in Africa before a 2022 global outbreak in which wealthy countries quickly responded with vaccines from their stockpiles, while Africa received fewer doses despite pleas from its governments.
WHO declared Africa’s outbreaks a global health emergency in August, with Congo as the epicenter. The total number of suspected cases in Africa since the beginning of the year now stands at 42,438, with 8,113 confirmed as mpox, according to Africa CDC.
Mpox vaccinations have begun in Rwanda and Congo.
A nurse holds a bottle of mpox vaccine at the General hospital, in Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Moses Sawasawa)
A man receives a vaccination against mpox, at the General hospital, in Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Moses Sawasawa)
ASHEVILLE, N.C. (AP) — Early in-person voting began statewide Thursday in the presidential battleground of North Carolina, including in mountainous areas where thousands of potential voters still lack power and clean running water after Hurricane Helene's epic flooding.
Helene’s arrival three weeks ago in the Southeast decimated remote towns throughout Appalachia and killed at least 246 people, with a little over half of the storm-related deaths in North Carolina. It was the deadliest hurricane to hit the U.S. mainland since Katrina in 2005.
But despite the catastrophic damage, all but four of 80 sites in the 25 western counties hardest hit by the storm were set to open Thursday for the 17-day early vote period — a tremendous achievement according to State Board of Elections Executive Director Karen Brinson Bell, who credited emergency management workers, election officials and utilities.
“It’s an effort all North Carolinians should be proud of,” Brinson Bell said this week.
At the South Buncombe Library in Asheville, a city devastated by the storm, about 60 people — most bundled up in jackets, hats and gloves for the chilly weather, lined up around the building before the polls opened at 9 a.m.
They included 77-year-old Joyce Rich, who said Helene made early voting more urgent for her. Rich said while her house was largely spared by the storm, she and her husband still need to do some work on it. Meanwhile, family members who don’t have power or water access are coming over to take showers.
“We decided, let’s just get it finished,” Rich said. “You never know what’s going to happen.”
Another voter at the library, 33-year-old Jarred Teague, said it was important to show up to vote early, in part because “democracy itself seems to be on the line” during this election.
Early in-person voting, which continues through Nov. 2, is very popular in North Carolina. More than 3.6 million ballots — 65% of all cast ballots — were cast this way in the 2020 general election. In the 2016 election, 62% of all cast ballots were cast during early in-person voting.
Absentee voting in North Carolina began a few weeks ago, with over 67,000 completed ballots turned in so far, election officials said. People displaced by Helene are being allowed to drop off their absentee ballot at any early voting site in the state.
The importance of early voting wasn’t lost upon the presidential campaigns of Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump.
On Thursday, Democratic vice presidential nominee Tim Walz was expected to campaign in Winston-Salem and in Durham, where he was to be joined by former President Bill Clinton.
South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, U.S. Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith of Mississippi and Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Whatley were expected to appear on the “Team Trump Bus Tour” when it resumes Thursday in Rutherford County, which was among the hardest-hit areas.
The North Carolina ballot also includes races for governor, attorney general and several other statewide positions. All U.S. House and General Assembly seats also are up for reelection.
County election boards have received flexibility to modify early voting sites, including locations and their daily hours. In Buncombe County, 10 of the 14 planned early voting sites will be open.
In Watauga County, home to Boone and Appalachian State University, the board adjusted early-voting hours to avoid evening travel for voters and poll workers. They also expanded weekend voting options.
Watauga elections Director Matt Snyder said Wednesday having all six sites ready for Thursday was a feat his office didn’t expect in Helene’s immediate aftermath. But election officials have been working weekends to get prepared.
“It’s exhausting,” Snyder said. “It’s 16-hour days ... but everybody seems to pitch in.”
Officials in the 25 counties affected by the storm were still evaluating Election Day polling locations, with the “vast majority” expected to be available to voters, Brinson Bell said.
This is the first presidential general election for which North Carolina voters must show photo identification. Someone who has lost their ID because of the storm can fill out an exception form.
Associated Press writers Gary D. Robertson in Raleigh, North Carolina; Christina A. Cassidy in Atlanta; and Christine Fernando in Chicago contributed to this report.
"I voted!" stickers designed by a young student are seen during early in-person voting, Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024, in Asheville, N.C. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)
Voters discuss sample ballots while waiting in line to cast their early in-person vote, Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024, in Asheville, N.C. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)
A voter marks their ballot during early in-person voting, Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024, in Asheville, N.C. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)
People wait in line for early in-person voting, Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024, in Asheville, N.C. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)
Voters discuss sample ballots while waiting in line to cast their early in-person vote, Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024, in Asheville, N.C. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)
Voters mark their ballots during early in-person voting, Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024, in Asheville, N.C. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)
People wait in line for early in-person voting, Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024, in Asheville, N.C. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)
Voters mark their ballots during early in-person voting, Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024, in Asheville, N.C. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)
A poll worker hangs up signs at an early in-person voting site at Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College, Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2024, in Marshall, N.C. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)
Poll workers set up ballot-marking machines at an early in-person voting site at Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College, Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2024, in Marshall, N.C. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)
Poll workers set up ballot-marking machines at an early in-person voting site at Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College, Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2024, in Marshall, N.C. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)
A ballot-marking machine is seen at an early in-person voting site at Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College, Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2024, in Marshall, N.C. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)
