Earlier this week, the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention declared mpox outbreaks in the region a public health emergency. Cases of the virus, also known as monkeypox, have been confirmed in children and adults in over a dozen countries. Vaccine doses are not widely available in Africa, and according to Associated Press News, a new form of the virus is spreading. At a briefing today, The World Health Organization declared it a global emergency, expressing concern that the virus could continue spreading outside the continent.
“This is something that should concern us all ... The potential for further spread beyond Africa and beyond is very worrying,” WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus explained. Reportedly, mpox cases have been detected in 13 countries so far this year. 96% of all cases and deaths reported have been in Congo. Officials at the Africa CDC say that 70% of cases in Congo are in children below the age of 15. This group also accounts for 85% of deaths. There have been over 14,000 cases in Congo, claiming the lives of 524 people.
New Version Of Mpox Spreads Through Africa
South African infectious diseases expert Salim Abdool Karim similarly expressed concern that the virus could continue spreading, noting that the new version of mpox has a death rate of roughly 3-4%. “We are now in a situation where (mpox) poses a risk to many more neighbors in and around central Africa,” he said. The new version of mpox, known as clade Ib, appears to spread primarily through sexual contact. This also seems to be behind these latest outbreaks in Congo.
"The detection and rapid spread of a new clade of mpox in eastern DRC, its detection in neighboring countries that had not previously reported mpox, and the potential for further spread within Africa and beyond is very worrying," Tedros said at the briefing today. What do you think of the WHO declaring mmpox a global health emergency? Share your thoughts in the comments section down below and keep an eye on HNHH for more updates.