Just hours after the World Health Organization (WHO) declared a public health emergency, the fatal virus strain mpox quickly spread to 13 countries, and Europe recorded its first case. This is the first recorded case of mpox outside of Africa.
It was discovered that the individual with the mpox diagnosis had contracted the infection while travelling through Africa, the continent that is now fighting the outbreak.
During the initial epidemic in the DRC, the disease has so far claimed 500 deaths and affected 13,700 individuals.
[Also read: https://thenewsporter.com/mpox-outbreak-who-calls-it-public-health-emergency-of-international-concern/]
Previously referred to as mpox, the virus is potentially fatal and spreads quickly.
The transmission of mpox occurs through intimate contact, such as skin-to-skin contact while conversing, breathing too near to the sufferer, or having sexual intercourse.
What is mpox?
Monkeypox or mpox is a viral infection that leads to pus-filled lesions and flu-like symptoms. Only a few years ago, most of the cases of the same were reported in West and Central Africa.
However, in 2022, it was termed a public health emergency when Clade 2 strain triggered a global outbreak that reached 100 countries. It was brought under control by vaccinating high-risk people.
The symptoms of mpox are:
- Muscle pain
- Swollen lymph nodes
- Skin rashes
- Mucosal lesions
- Fever
- Headaches
- Low energy
- Back pain
Earlier, the World Health Organization (WHO) had flagged it as a “public health emergency of international concern” no less.
“The emergence of a new clade of mpox, its rapid spread in eastern DRC, and the reporting of cases in several neighbouring countries are very worrying. On top of outbreaks of other mpox clades in DRC and other countries in Africa, it’s clear that a coordinated international response is needed to stop these outbreaks and save lives,” WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has declared.
Dr Tedros’s declaration came on the advice of an IHR Emergency Committee of independent experts who reviewed data presented by experts from WHO and affected countries.
The emergence last year and rapid spread of a new virus strain in DRC, clade 1b, which appears to be spreading mainly through sexual networks, and its detection in countries neighbouring the DRC is especially concerning, and one of the main reasons for the declaration of the PHEIC.
In the past month, more than 100 laboratory-confirmed cases of clade 1b have been reported in four countries neighbouring the DRC that have not reported mpox before: Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda. Experts believe the true number of cases to be higher as a large proportion of clinically compatible cases have not been tested.
Several outbreaks of different clades of mpox have occurred in different countries, with different modes of transmission and different levels of risk.
The two vaccines currently in use for mpox are recommended by WHO’s Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunization and are also approved by WHO-listed national regulatory authorities and individual countries including Nigeria and the DRC.
Last week, the WHO Director-General triggered the process for Emergency Use Listing for mpox vaccines, which will accelerate vaccine access for lower-income countries which have not yet issued their national regulatory approval.
Main Image by Samuel F. Johanns from Pixabay
