MPox is now a global health emergency, Declares WHO
Mpox, which was previously regarded as monkeypox, was discovered by researchers in 1958 during outbreaks of ‘pox-like disease’ in monkeys.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) stated on Wednesday regarding the growth of mpox cases in Africa, it is now officially a global health emergency. WHO also alerted everyone that the virus is quite dangerous in terms of crossing the border of countries.
The WHO’s Director-General, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus made the announcement after a meeting of the agency’s emergency committee. This announcement comes hot on the heels of the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention declaring mpox to be a public health concern in Africa the previous day.
Mpox, which was previously regarded as monkeypox, was discovered by researchers in 1958 during outbreaks of ‘pox-like disease’ in monkeys. Before the recent events, human infections with mpox were identified primarily in Central and West Africa as a result of exposure to affected animals.
But for the first time in 2022, sexual transmission of the virus caused outbreaks in more than 70 countries where mpox was not identified earlier. Mpox is related to smallpox for example having similar symptoms but is usually less severe with symptoms like fever, chills, and body aches. In more serious forms of the disease, people may develop lesions on the face, hands, chest and genitals.
WHO reported that mpox, a viral disease, has been identified for the first time in four East African countries: These are the current members: Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda according to the ‘Associated press’,the organization associated these outbreaks with the continuous epidemic in Congo. Similarly, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus expressed alarm about the possible further killer disease expansion within the African continent and to other zones in the world.
In another incident, health officials in Ivory Coast, and South Africa commenced to report cases of mpox that is a different, less virulent species from the one responsible for an outbreak that affected nearly one hundred thousand people throughout the world in 2022
The newly identified mpox variant in Congo appears to be communicable, as with numerous other contagious illnesses. This variant has been found in four other East African countries already. The risk to the population has been considered low – very low – with new cases expected to be imported from time to time. It is also important to note that unlike other diseases several months ago such as Covid-19 or measles, mpox is not transmitted through the air and people mainly spread it through physical touch such as touches, and sexual contact.
Africa’s Response to the Mpox Global Health Emergency
Sweden’s first case of mpox, a viral disease that spreads through skin-to-skin contact, has been recorded. This is following the World Health Organisation categorizing mpox as a public health emergency of international concern after an outbreak in Democratic Republic of Congo extended to other countries. In a statement on Thursday afternoon, Health and Social Affairs Minister Jakob Forssmed confirmed the report as Sweden’s first Clade 1 variant of mpox.
The WHO’s declaration of an emergency is meant to rally support from countries and philanthropic organizations, though similar announcements in the past have led to mixed global responses. Dr. Jean Kaseya, Director General of the Africa CDC, explained that their public health emergency declaration was intended “to mobilize our institutions, collective will, and resources to act swiftly and decisively.” He urged Africa’s international allies to provide assistance, emphasizing the deteriorating situation on the continent.
In the mpox outbreak that was experienced globally in the year 2022, it was established that most of the affected people were gay and bisexual men, with the virus transmitted mainly through close contact such as sexual interaction, according to a report by Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group in collaboration with the AP. However, this is not the case in Africa, much more in Congo. There, children under 15 years of age comprise more than 70% of mpox patients and 85% of the deaths.
WHO said this year there have been over 14,000 mpox cases and 524 deaths in Africa more than the previous year. Congo comprises more than thirty provinces and these provinces represent over 96 percent of these cases and fatalities. Scientists are concerned with the detection of a new mpox variant in Congo that will affect transfer of the disease among people. Warning of high numbers, the Africa CDC said mpox cases have doubled in Africa and the number of deaths up by 7% compared to the same period in the previous year. Also, recently a new strain of mpox was found in a mining town of the Democratic Republic of Congo with a mortality rate of up to 10%, according to AP.
The mpox outbreak that started in 2022 in many countries was stemmed in wealthy countries through vaccination, treatment and curtailing risky practices. However, there are few of such resources available in Africa. Marks of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine said that the vaccination, including smallpox for its association with mpox, would likely be useful. He said “We need a large supply of vaccines so that we can vaccinate populations most at risk.”
The Congolese government has requested one million doses, especially for children under the age of five, but Cris Kacita Osako, the coordinator of Congo’s Monkeypox Response Committee stated that no doses have been received.
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