 has declared the mpox outbreak in parts of Africa a public health emergency of international){kind=link}
The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared the mpox outbreak in parts of Africa a public health emergency of international concern.The highly contagious disease – formerly known as monkeypox – has killed at least 450 people during an initial outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
It has now spread across parts of central and east Africa, and scientists are concerned about how fast a new variant of the disease is spreading and its high fatality rate.
WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the potential for further spread within Africa and beyond “is very worrying”.“A co-ordinated international response is essential to stop this outbreak and save lives,” he said.Mpox is transmitted through close contact, such as sex, skin-to-skin contact and talking or breathing close to another person.
It causes flu-like symptoms, skin lesions and can be fatal, with four in 100 cases leading to death.There are two main types of mpox – Clade 1 and Clade 2.
A previous mpox public health emergency, declared in 2022, was caused by the relatively mild Clade 2. However, this time it is the far more deadly Clade 1 – which has killed up to 10% of those getting sick in previous outbreaks – that is surging.
There was a change in the virus around September last year. Mutations led to an offshoot – called Clade 1b – that has since spread rapidly. This new variant has been labelled “the most dangerous yet” by one scientist.
Since the start of the year, there have been more than 13,700 cases of mpox in the DR Congo, with at least 450 deaths.
“We must be proactive and aggressive in our efforts to contain and eliminate this threat,” he said.