As the Mpox (monkeypox) outbreak spreads rapidly in Congo and other parts of Africa , the WHO declared a global health emergency in Africa on Wednesday, August 14th, 2024.
According to WHO, Mpox (monkey pox), is a recognised that spreads easily amongst people and from animals. It can be easily contacted through close contact with the skin, such as touching, kissing or sex, also through infected materials like clothing and needles and sheets. With symptoms like fever, headache, muscle and back pain, a painful rash, low energy and enlarged lymph nodes.
There have been confirmed cases among children and adults in more than a dozen countries and a new form of the virus spreading with few vaccine doses available on the continent.
The Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had announced earlier this week that the mpox outbreaks were a public health emergency, with more than 500 deaths, and sought for international help to stop the virus’ spread.
“This is something that should concern us all. The potential for further spread within Africa and beyond is very worrying,” said WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
The Africa CDC said mpox, also known as monkeypox, has been detected in 13 countries this year, and more than 96% of all cases and deaths are in Congo. Cases are up 160% and deaths are up 19% compared with the same period last year. So far, there have been more than 14,000 cases and 524 people have died.
“We are now in a situation where (mpox) poses a risk to many more neighbors in and around central Africa,” said Salim Abdool Karim, a South African infectious diseases expert who chairs the Africa CDC emergency group. He said the new version of mpox spreading from Congo appears to have a death rate of about 3-4%.
After meeting with experts, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus announced that he had declared a public health emergency of international concern, the highest level of alarm under international health law.
Also called PHEIC, this is a status given by WHO to “extraordinary events” that pose a public health risk to other countries through the international spread of disease. These outbreaks may require a coordinated international response, according to the organization.
