‘No reason’ to cancel holidays to Africa over monkeypox – but you should still take precautions

With safari lodges already seeing cancellations, we answer key questions about the outbreak

Teams of shopkeepers, police and residents are busy sweeping the streets of Kasese in western Uganda ahead of this weekend’s Rwenzori Marathon. Around 4,000 athletes and professional runners are expected to participate in a race which crosses the Equator, although several concerned participants were on the brink of dropping out.
Their biggest worry wasn’t the elevation, altitude or stamina needed to complete one of the world’s most scenic long-distance runs. Fears of a new epidemic spreading from across the border in the Democratic Republic of Congo were on their mind.
“We did have a few people who wanted to cancel,” admits organiser Amos Wekesa, who also owns local tour operator Great Lakes Safaris and the Uganda Lodges portfolio of properties. “But we’ve only had two confirmed cases of mpox – both imported – and those have now been dealt with.”
Recently declared a global health emergency by The World Health Organisation (WHO), an outbreak of potentially deadly virus mpox is causing great concern. Along with the DRC, cases have been confirmed in Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda. In response, controls and screenings have been ramped up across Asia, but Europe is yet to follow. 
Already, several African lodges and operators have received cancellation and deferment requests – mainly from American and British travellers. Wekesa also points to a drop in bookings and enquiries which should be much higher at this time of year. It’s an additional blow for Uganda, where the area around Queen Elizabeth National Park remains red-listed following a terrorist attack on tourists in October 2023. 
Still recovering from the devastating financial damage caused by Covid-19, a reduction in tourist numbers is unthinkable for most businesses. Everyone, however, is exercising caution rather than descending into full-blown panic. 
“There is always a delicate balance in communicating the message as outbreaks of this kind need good surveillance as an early warning system, leading when necessary to the appropriate public health response,” says Nigel Vere Nicoll, president of ATTA, the continent’s largest tourism network.
Having consulted with the organisation’s medical advisor, Dr Richard Dawood at the Fleet Street Clinic, Vere Nicoll believes “there is no reason why normal travel to Africa should be interrupted or indeed disrupted by this disease”. 
Mike Kelly, co-founder of luxury family safari operator Coral Tree Travel, takes a similar stance.
“We are keeping a very close eye on the situation, but do not yet have any reason to be worried,” he says. “Unfortunately, East and Central Africa have had to be extremely well prepared for outbreaks such as these and are arguably better set up to handle them than some European nations. In recent years, there have been outbreaks of Ebola, Marburg virus and mpox, all of which were contained and did not lead to any disruption for any of our travellers in Kenya or Tanzania.”
Potentially more damaging than the disease itself is the reaction to the outbreak. 
“The media coverage has led to concerns from prospective clients and from those that are already booked – including some not even going to East Africa,” admits Kelly. “Africa remains a continent of uncertainty for many people, and the reporting of it as being an ‘Africa issue’ rather than just mentioning the countries involved doesn’t help.”
So why does the spectre of an epidemic loom far larger when it stems from Africa?
“As we saw during the Covid pandemic, Africa is perceived harshly in light of health scares, with an underlying concern around hygiene and medical standards,” says Greg Fox, co-founder of Mahlatini Luxury Travel. “Any mention of a single African country casts a dark shadow across the entire continent and African tourism generally. This is heightened by somewhat sensationalist media reporting but also against a backdrop of the pandemic when travellers were stranded.”
So far Fox says the luxury operator has not received any cancellation requests, but his team is currently fielding concerns and diverting some clients to southern Africa or destinations outside the continent.
Given there is currently no advice from the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) against visitors travelling to key tourism destinations in Africa as a consequence of mpox outbreaks, tour operators are under no obligation to offer refunds. 
“As a duty of care to our clients, we’re issuing an mpox update to all due to travel to East Africa within the next eight weeks and ensuring they have adequate travel insurance in place in case any disruption to their plans arises,” says Fox. “We are not offering refunds or rebookings at this stage; this would not be supported by our suppliers at this stage of the process.”
There are, of course, recommended precautions for anyone travelling to affected areas.
In contrast to the early days of the Covid-19 outbreak, a vaccine for mpox is already available. For now, however, the NHS recommends this only for healthcare workers, gay men who have regular sex with multiple partners, and people who have been in contact with someone who has tested positive for mpox.
According to the NHS Fit For Travel website, any travellers to countries where cases of mpox have been detected should practise careful hand hygiene and avoid contact with monkeys and rodents.
Professional photographer Paul Goldstein, co-owner of the Kicheche safari camps in Kenya, offers his own advice: “If, by any small chance, you were in the Congo and you saw an infected animal or person with open suppurating lesions, perhaps don’t cuddle them?”
Like many industry players, he believes the situation has been over-sensationalised and unnecessarily over-hyped.
“Since Covid, everyone is suddenly a virologist,” he says. “But there are many more serious diseases which aren’t stopping tourism, so this certainly won’t.”