Ghana’s Mpox outbreak has entered a critical stage. The Ghana Health Service (GHS) confirms that 18 new cases were recorded recently, pushing the national total to 346 confirmed infections. This explosive spike signals a dangerous shift in the trajectory of the disease.
Just weeks earlier, on July 14, Ghana’s total stood at 218 cases, with no reported deaths. By July 22, that had jumped to 257 cases, and the country recorded its first fatality due to Mpox. This rapid acceleration in both cases and deaths underscores the mounting threat.
How It All Began — and Where We Stand Now
First detected in Ghana in June 2022 — when only a handful of cases emerged — Mpox has gradually grown into a national concern. For much of 2023 and early 2024, data indicated a lull, with isolated cases and minimal impact. But 2025 has brought a resurgence.
Africa-wide, Mpox remains a public health emergency. The Africa CDC reports that in the first quarter of this year, confirmed cases in Africa nearly matched those recorded throughout 2024. Ghana is now contributing to that rise.
A recent global report revealed 34 new Mpox cases in Ghana, bringing the total to 79 at that earlier stage of the outbreak — highlighting how far the situation has escalated since then.
Why This Is a Critical Turning Point
This sharp uptick in cases — and the first reported death — unmistakably mark a dangerous phase in Ghana’s Mpox battle. The virus spreads primarily through close personal contact, including with rashes or contaminated objects.
A doubling of cases in a single reporting period — especially concentrated in the Western Region, which now constitutes over 50% of Ghana’s Mpox cases — is particularly worrisome, signaling community spread beyond isolated clusters
