Burundi has reported three cases of mpox in its commercial capital and a nearby town, its health ministry said.

The cases of the viral infection, two in Bujumbura, and on Isare, about 30 km from Bujumbura, were confirmed after a local laboratory and the World Health Organization conducted tests, Lydwine Baradahana, the health minister, said in a statement late on Thursday.

"The three cases are being treated in health facilities and are getting better. And the contact cases are already listed and their follow-ups are underway,” she said. 

"The health ministry reassures the Burundian population that all measures have been taken to deal with this disease."

Baradahana did not say which variant of the mpox virus the ministry had confirmed.

Mpox has been endemic in Burundi's neighbour, Democratic Republic of Congo for decades but a new variant of the clade I virus emerged last year.

The infection caused by the monkeypox virus spreads through close contact, causing flu-like symptoms and a painful rash. Most cases are mild but it can kill.

A different, less severe form of mpox - clade IIb - spread globally in 2022, largely through sexual contact between men. This prompted the WHO to declare a public health emergency that has now ended, although there are still cases and the agency has said mpox remains a public health threat.