14 August 2024 – The World Health Organization declared on Wednesday that Mpox virus a world health emergency resulting from a worsening outbreak within the Democratic Republic of Congo and other parts of Africa.
At an emergency meeting of the Mpox Committee, the WHO described the Mpox outbreak a public health emergency of international concernwhich the organization describes as “an exceptional event that poses a risk to the public health of other states through the international spread of disease and may require a coordinated international response.”
The announcement is available in the wake of the invention of a brand new and more dangerous strain of the Mpox virus, called clade Ib, identified in Congo. The WHO and other health experts say this strain is more concerning since it spreads more easily and is more severe. Unlike previous strains that spread mainly through sexual contact, especially amongst men who’ve sex with men, this latest variant can spread more easily through close skin-to-skin contact, including inside families and amongst children. Recently, the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention declared Mpox a health emergencyand identified that because the starting of the 12 months, greater than 17,000 cases and 500 deaths have been documented in 13 African countries. An estimated 96% of all cases and deaths are in Congo, The Associated Press reported.
The declaration is the second time in two years that WHO has declared Mpox a world health emergency. The last time this happened was in July 2022. At the time, the declaration was in response to the rapid spread of Mpox outside its traditional endemic areas in Central and West Africa. The outbreak had spread to several countries, particularly in Europe and North America, with the vast majority of cases reported in men who’ve sex with men.
Mpox is a highly contagious disease from the identical family of viruses as smallpox. It may be very easily transmitted from individual to individual, especially through bodily fluids and things like kissing, sex, or touching infected areas. after to the CDC. The virus may also spread through droplets within the air or through objects which have come into contact with infected body fluids, comparable to bedsheets. Mpox will also be transmitted from animals to people, especially if an infected animal bites or scratches you.
People with MPOX typically develop a painful rash on the genitals, anus, or other parts of the body. The rash often blisters or crusts before it heals. Some people even have a fever or flu-like symptoms. Historically, individuals with weakened immune systems, young children, pregnant women, older adults, and unvaccinated persons are most susceptible to becoming seriously unwell or dying from the virus.
“Mpox has now crossed borders and affected thousands of people across our continent, families have been torn apart and the pain and suffering has reached every corner of our continent,” said Dr. Jean Kaseya, Director General of the Africa CDC, during a web-based press conference. “This declaration is not just a formality, it is a call to action. It is an admission that we can no longer afford to be reactive. We must be proactive and aggressive to contain and eliminate this threat.”
Although there’s a vaccine against Mpox, access to doses may be very limited on the African continent. Kaseya specified that there’s a plan to secure three million doses of the Mpox vaccine by the top of the 12 months.