Mpox cases in Africa have surged to over 15,000 this year, more than the entire year of 2023, causing concern for world health experts such as the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, who are expected to declare an emergency next week.
The most impacted populations are children in the Democratic Republic of Congo, killing hundreds and making thousands more sick. Over 96% of cases and deaths from the disease have occurred in the DRC, but the disease has been detected in 10 countries in total. The disease has also spread into African countries that have not previously had any cases, such as Kenya and the Ivory Coast.
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The African CDC said cases are up 160%, and deaths have jumped by 19%.
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The leader of the World Health Organization said on Wednesday that he would convene a committee to consider declaring another international health emergency. Meanwhile, The United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention sent out an alert warning physicians to be vigilant about patients with Mpox symptoms.
“Because there is a risk of additional spread, CDC clinicians and jurisdictions in the United States maintain a heightened index of suspicion for mpox in patients who have recently been in DRC or to any country sharing a border with DRC (ROC, Angola, Zambia, Rwanda, Burundi, Uganda, South Sudan, CAR),” the alert reads.
Jean Kaseya, the director general of the Africa CDC urged action in a press briefing on Thursday, The Washington Post reported. “This is a major alarm for the world. We are losing the youth in Africa. This new incident demonstrates the need for a collective and collaborative approach in curbing the spread of the disease,” she said.
The World Health Organization has released $1 million from its emergency fund to support the response to Mpox. There was an outbreak in 2022, which spread to more than 70 countries, mostly affecting gay and bisexual men.
“Sexual transmission in areas where there is a great deal of population movement is particularly worrisome given the implications for rapid spread,” Anne Rimoin, an epidemiologist who has studied the virus there for over two decades. “Mpox is transmitted very efficiently through sexual contact.”
The threat of infection to Western countries is low, but African countries are being gravely impacted by the virus due to a lack of vaccine and antiviral supplies.
“Let’s be frank: The Global South has always faced massive resource limitations, and that is certainly no different here,” said Jason Kindrachuk, an associate professor at the University of Manitoba’s Max Rady College of Medicine assisting the response in Congo.
