The recent surge in mpox outbreaks across Africa, which prompted the World Health Organization (WHO) to declare a global emergency, has been attributed to decades of neglect and the international community’s failure to control sporadic epidemics in a population with limited immunity to the smallpox-related virus, The Associated Press reports, citing African scientists.
Dr. Dimie Ogoina, chair of the WHO’s mpox emergency committee, said that ongoing negligence has contributed to the emergence of a new, more transmissible variant of the virus in under-resourced countries. He noted that mpox, commonly known as monkeypox, had been circulating largely unnoticed in Africa for years before the 2022 global outbreak that spread to over 70 countries.
“What we are witnessing in Africa now is different from the global outbreak in 2022,” Dr. Ogoina explained during a virtual news conference.
He pointed out that the initial outbreak primarily affected gay and bisexual men, whereas the current situation in Africa involves transmission through sexual contact as well as close interactions among children, pregnant women, and other vulnerable groups.
Most people over 50 may have received vaccinations against smallpox, which can offer some protection against mpox; however, Africa’s predominantly young population lacks this immunity, leaving them more susceptible to the virus. Mpox, belonging to the same virus family as smallpox, generally causes milder symptoms such as fever and body aches, but it can also lead to severe cases characterized by prominent blisters on the face, hands, chest, and genitals.
Earlier this month, the WHO recognized the escalating mpox outbreaks in the Congo and 11 other African nations as a global emergency. The Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported on Tuesday that there have been over 22,800 mpox cases and 622 fatalities on the continent, with infections rising by 200% in the past week. The majority of cases and deaths are reported in the Congo, where many infections are among children under 15.
The new variant of mpox has also been identified in four other African countries and in Sweden, where health officials confirmed the first case of a patient who contracted the disease during a recent trip to Africa.
Although the WHO announced that current data does not suggest the new variant is more dangerous, research into its characteristics is ongoing.
In response to the crisis, Spain’s health ministry declared on Tuesday it would donate 20% of its mpox vaccine stockpile — around 500,000 doses — to African nations grappling with the outbreaks. This donation exceeds vaccine commitments from both the European Union and the US The Africa CDC noted that recently the EU and Bavarian Nordic have jointly pledged 215,000 mpox vaccine doses, while the US has offered 50,000 doses to the Congo. Japan has also contributed doses to Congo.
Additionally, the US donated 10,000 doses of mpox vaccines to Nigeria, marking the first vaccine shipments to Africa since the global emergency was declared.
