ALGIERS, Deputy Director of the National Public Health Institute of Ivory Coast Dr. Daouda Koulibaly said that 28 infections with Mpox (monkeypox) had been confirmed across the country until yesterday, including one fatality. The first infection case was detected in the southern town of Tabou in early July and then the epidemic reached Abidjan and other parts of the country, Dr. Koulibaly told reporters on Wednesday. The epidemic situation is under control and the health services strengthened surveillance to break the chains of transmission, he said, noting that people who were in contact with infected persons are undergoing lab tests, isolation and monitoring. He added that the strain of the virus in Ivory Coast is less fatal than the one in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the hardest-hit country in Africa with at least 16,000 confirmed cases, including 548 deaths. The outbreak of the disease in Africa prompted the World Health Organization to declare, on Wednesday, August 14, a public health emergency of international concern - the highest level of alert. Source: Kuwait News Agency