The World Health Organization said Friday it deployed experts to investigate a mystery flu-like disease that in recent weeks killed dozens of people in southwest Congo.

Congo’s health minister says the government is on alert over a mystery flu-like disease that in recent weeks killed dozens of people.

Africa's top public health agency says the number of mpox-related deaths in the continent has surpassed 1,000 and warned of the continuing threat of cross-border contamination and a lack of rapid test kits.

The African health agency says that Rwanda has started a vaccination campaign against mpox with 1,000 doses it obtained from Nigeria.

The Africa Center for Disease Control and Prevention has recorded more than 100 mpox-related deaths in a week, a toll the agency's director-general described as “not acceptable.”.

Authorities say a vaccination campaign against mpox in Congo will begin Oct. 2, with workers focusing on the three most affected provinces first.

The Africa Center for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organization have launched a continent-wide response plan to the outbreak of mpox.

Africa's public health body is seeing a rapid increase in mpox cases, with almost 4,000 reported on the continent in the last week.