WHO Declares Mpox Outbreaks in Africa a Global Emergency
The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared the mpox outbreaks in Africa a global health emergency, citing confirmed cases among children and adults in more than a dozen countries, CBS News reports.
The announcement comes after a similar one earlier this week by the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), which declared the outbreaks a public health emergency, noting over 500 deaths and calling for international support to curb the virus’s spread.
“This is something that should concern us all … The potential for further spread within Africa and beyond is very worrying,” WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said.
A global emergency is WHO’s highest level of alert but the designation does not necessarily mean a disease is particularly transmissible or lethal.
With a new form of the virus spreading and few vaccine doses available on the continent, the Africa CDC warned the virus might spill across international borders.
“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%.
Mpox has been detected in 13 countries this year with more than 96% of all cases and deaths are in Congo, the Africa CDC previously said.
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.
Officials at the Africa CDC said nearly 70% of cases in Congo are in children younger than 15, who also accounted for 85% of deaths.
What is mpox?
Mpox, also known as monkeypox, is in the same family of viruses that includes variola virus, which causes smallpox; vaccinia virus, used in the smallpox vaccine; and cowpox virus, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It was discovered in a colony of monkeys in 1958 and its first human case was recorded in 1970 in the Democratic Republic of Congo, but has been reported in humans in other countries.
In 2022, the WHO declared mpox a global emergency after it spread to more than 70 countries, mostly affecting gay and bisexual men. In that outbreak, fewer than 1% of people died.
New form of mpox symptoms
Earlier this year, scientists reported the emergence of a new form of the deadlier form of mpox, which can kill up to 10% of people, in a Congolese mining town that they feared might spread more easily. Mpox mostly spreads via close contact with infected people, including through sex.
Unlike in previous mpox outbreaks, where lesions were mostly seen on the chest, hands and feet, the new form causes milder symptoms and lesions on the genitals. That makes it harder to spot, meaning people might also sicken others without knowing they’re infected.
Can We Stop the Spread of mpox in Africa?
While Western countries largely contained the 2022 mpox outbreak through vaccines and treatments, access to these resources remains limited in Africa, raising concerns about the current outbreak’s trajectory.
Experts stress the need for swift action to prevent further spread. According to Michael Marks, a professor of medicine at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, a large vaccine supply is necessary to target populations most at risk, including sex workers, children, and adults in outbreak regions.
In the absence of mpox vaccines readily available in the West, African nations should consider smallpox vaccinations, as the two diseases are related, Marks said.
