Zimbabwe reported its first mpox cases yesterday, a child and an adult from two separate towns who had traveled recently, according to an African media report.

Zimbabwe has reported its first two cases of mpox, including in the nation’s capital, Harare, and in Mberengwa, a district located in the mineral-rich Midlands province.An 11-year-old boy who visited South Africa in August and returned to the country in early September and a 24-year-old man who traveled to Tanzania last month have been diagnosed with the infectious disease,

Zimbabwe has confirmed its first two cases of mpox, the health ministry said on Sunday, without specifying which variant had been recorded.

Zimbabwe has confirmed its first two cases of mpox, days after Zambia reported its first case. The cases, whose variants have not been identified, were detected in people who were from or had travelled to Tanzania and South Africa.

Health minister Douglas Mombeshora said both patients were recovering well and the authorities had initiated contact tracing.

The World Health Organization in August declared mpox a global public health emergency for the second time in two years, as a new variant of the viral infection spread from Democratic Republic of Congo to neighbouring African countries.