Mpox outbreak declared a public health emergency for Africa
Mpox – the highly infectious disease that used to be called monkeypox – has been declared a public health emergency in Africa by the continent’s top health body.
Scientists from the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) say they are alarmed by the speed of spread of a new strand of mpox.
In the Democratic Republic of Congo, since the beginning of the year, more than 13,700 cases and 450 deaths have been recorded.
The virus, which can cause lesions across the whole body, has spread to other African countries. These include Burundi, the Central African Republic (CAR) Kenya and Rwanda.
The declaration of a public health emergency will help governments co-ordinate their response; and potentially increase the flow of medical supplies and aid into affected areas.
Health chiefs outside Africa will also be monitoring the outbreak to assess the risk of it spreading further.
On 29 July, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDPT) said the risk from the mpox virus was “very low” in Europe.
Mpox spreads from animals to humans and between people through close contact with someone who is infected; including through sex, skin-to-skin contact and talking or breathing close to another person.
It can cause symptoms such as fever, muscle aches and pox-like lesions across the body. If left untreated, mpox can be serious or even fatal.
Two main strains
There are two main strains of the virus known. A milder one caused the global outbreak in 2022 that affected Europe, Australia, the US and many other countries – and was mainly spread through sexual contact.
The second more deadly strain – now endemic in central Africa – is behind the new recently discovered variant in DR Congo.
Three vaccines exist. But only people at risk or who have been in close contact with an infected person are usually able to have it.