The mpox outbreak in Burundi could possibly be ended in weeks, a UN health official says, but progress in Africa's second-worst-affected country will depend on getting adequate resources and battling stigma associated with the disease.

Burundi has reported nearly 600 mpox cases, second only to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), but outbreaks are confined to a limited area and no deaths have been reported.

A rapid spread of the disease across Africa prompted the World Health Organization (WHO) to declare mpox a global health emergency in August. Africa's top health body also declared it a public health emergency in the continent.

Paul Ngwakum, Regional Health Advisor for Eastern and Southern Africa for the UN children's agency (UNICEF), said on Friday it was possible to stop transmission in weeks, ensuring no deaths.

"We can limit the spread, contain the virus, and potentially end the outbreak with no lives lost," he told reporters by video conference from Bujumbura.

"I think if we have all the resources … this can be stopped within a very few weeks."

UNICEF is appealing for nearly $US60 million ($88 million) for Burundi and five other countries.

DRC 'simply cannot respond' to new mpox strain

Mpox, previously known as monkeypox, is caused by a virus transmitted to humans by infected animals but can also be passed from human to human through close physical contact.

It causes flu-like symptoms and blisters and while usually mild, it can kill, especially if people are battling another illness or are malnourished.

The WHO declared the emergency in August after a new variant, clade 1b, was identified in the DRC.

A total of 25,093 suspected mpox cases and 723 deaths were reported across the continent between January and September 8, according to the WHO.

Of those, 21,835 suspected cases and 717 deaths were reported in Congo alone.

"It may indeed be that it's in a population who simply cannot respond immunologically to yet another threat," WHO spokesperson Margaret Harris said on Friday about the potential reasons for this outbreak's high death toll.

So far, cases have been reported by 15 African countries, with the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) warning on Thursday the outbreak was still not under control.

UNICEF plans to 'dispel myths' about the disease

Mr Ngwakum said the UN needed to fight stigma by raising awareness of mpox, calling for the need to "dispel myths, and calm fears".

"It's scary … if people are scared and don't want to come forth, it will take a long time," he added.

About two-thirds of those infected so far in Burundi were children, Mr Ngwakum said, and UNICEF was working to revive COVID-19-era remote learning plans so children could continue to learn from hospital or home while isolating.

The last time WHO declared a global health emergency over mpox was in 2022, when the original mpox clade 2 that had long been endemic in central Africa suddenly began spreading around the world.

That outbreak mainly impacted gay and bisexual men, with more than 100,000 cases reported and 222 deaths, according to the WHO.

Reuters/AFP