MPOX OUTBREAK A GLOBAL EMERGENCY

The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared the ongoing Mpox outbreak in Africa a global public health emergency.

A more contagious and deadly strain of the virus, called clade 1b was found in Kamituga, a small mining town in the DRC, in April. It’s now spread to 12 other African countries, including four of DRC’s neighbours that had not reported it before: Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda.

The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention has declared a public health emergency. It reports 17,000 Mpox cases and 517 deaths across the continent, with over 90 per cent of them in DRC.

A previous Mpox public health emergency, declared in 2022, was caused by the relatively mild clade 2 variant, which reached over 100 countries worldwide. That was dealt with by giving vaccines to vulnerable groups. However, this latest mutation is considered more deadly and contagious. It’s reported its fatality rate is around 10 per cent in children and five per cent in adults, compared to three per cent for its predecessor.

Mpox, formerly known as Monkeypox, spreads from physical contact with infected persons or through animals when hunting, skinning, or cooking them. It can also be passed on through materials, such as contaminated sheets, clothes or needles. It causes flu-like symptoms and pus-filled lesions on the body.

At a press conference, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, warned a co-ordinated international response was needed to tackle the outbreak and save lives.