More than 800 people have died from mpox across Africa this year, according to the African Union’s Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC).
The health agency expressed concern on Thursday, stating that the epidemic is “not under control.”
Since January, 34,297 cases have been recorded on the continent, including 38 cases in Ghana.
This brings the total number of African countries affected by mpox in 2024 to 16.
The rising cases highlight the ongoing public health challenge posed by mpox, with Africa CDC urging continued vigilance and intensified efforts to contain the outbreak.
The Bering Sea stretches between Russia and Alaska and is part of the North Pacific Ocean. It connects to the Arctic Ocean through the Bering Strait, a narrow passage separating Asia and North America.
“This recent activity demonstrates the increased interest in the Arctic by our strategic competitors,” Rear Adm. Megan Dean, commander of the 17th Coast Guard District, said in the USCG statement.
The US has raised concerns about China’s growing role and coordination with Russia in the strategically and environmentally sensitive Arctic region, as the two countries tighten their security and economic ties more broadly.
US and Canadian forces in July intercepted Russian and Chinese bombers flying together near Alaska for the first time, while their two navies operated together in international waters off the Alaskan coast in 2022 and 2023, according to the US military.
Last year, CCG and Russia’s Federal Security Service, which operates its coast guard, agreed to strengthen their “maritime law enforcement cooperation” and China was invited to observe Russia’s “Arctic Patrol-2023” security drills.
Analysts say the new patrol is part of a broader pattern of collaboration – and designed to send a message to Washington, whose maritime activities in the South and East China Seas have longed irked Beijing.
“The significance of the (China) Coast Guard operating farther north than it has ever done implies (China) is extending its Coast Guard into areas the US has traditionally considered its own domain,” said Carl Schuster, a retired US Navy captain and former director of operations at the US Pacific Command’s Joint Intelligence Center.
“China in particular is signaling that the US Coast Guard is not the only one that (can) operate within and near other countries’ Economic Exclusion Zones from their own home waters,” he said.
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