Malawi has commenced screening for mpox at all points of entry into the country to prevent the spread of the virus.
The move followed the recent record of the first two suspected cases involving a 31-year-old male and a 17-year-old identified in the country and are currently awaiting laboratory test results.
The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is the epicentre of a more deadly strain of the virus that emerged last year and has subsequently spread to more than 10 other African states.
Africa’s top public health agency on Wednesday said some countries on the continent could start vaccinating against the mpox within days.
Spokesperson for the Malawi Ministry of Health, Adrian Chikumbe said the decision to screen visitors to the country is part of a raft of preventative measures which includes an awareness campaign, especially through community health networks.
It has also set up a mobile diagnostic unit at a hospital in the country's capital, Lilongwe.
Malawi is one of the few Southern African countries that have so far managed to avoid an a mpox outbreak.