The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared MPOX a world health emergency. This is the second time in the last two years that WHO has declared Mpox as a global public health emergency. This announcement has been made after the outbreak of viral infection in the Democratic Republic of Congo, because the MPOX virus has now spread to the neighboring countries of Congo as well. MPox is the same infection which was earlier known as monkeypox.
Let us tell you that when the World Health Organization declared MPOX a world health emergency 2 years ago, this disease started spreading across the world. Its outbreak fell most on those men who had sexual relations with other men. Along with making people aware about the prevention of this disease, WHO also encouraged safe sex and vaccinated people on a large scale.
Mpox is an infection that has been a public health problem in parts of Africa for decades. The first case of MPox in humans was found in Congo in 1970 and since then its outbreak has been continuously increasing.
Currently, the highest outbreak of MPOX is being seen in Congo. Due to this disease the situation here has become quite frightening. An awareness campaign is being run to protect people from infection. Let us tell you that since January 2023, 27 thousand cases have been reported in Congo, while 1100 patients had died. Most of those affected by mpox are children.
Who is most affected by mpox?
MPox can generally prove to be very dangerous for children, pregnant women and people with weak immune systems, such as those suffering from HIV. Now two strains of Mpox are spreading rapidly in Congo. First- Endemic form i.e. virus spreading rapidly in a particular place and second- its new descendants.
What are the symptoms of MPOX?
Common symptoms of MPOX include fever, chills, body ache. Whereas in severe cases, there may be wounds on hands, face, chest and private parts. Pus comes out from the wound area. This disease is usually mild, but can be fatal.
What is the concern about MPOX?
This new form of the virus has given rise to concern in the medical world globally, because it is spreading rapidly and medical experts know very little about it. It is spreading through sexual contact as well as through other means of contact, such as the virus spreading among children in camps in some parts of Congo. Mpox has spread from eastern Congo to Rwanda, Uganda, Burundi and Kenya.
What will happen next now?
Medical experts hope that the declaration of a World Health Emergency will accelerate efforts to collect more medical equipment and funds in Congo to help authorities there deal with the outbreak of the disease. Better surveillance is needed to study the virus and help stop its spread. However, it is also true that the World Health Organization had appealed for 34 million dollars to fight MPOX in 2022, but it did not have much impact. Along with this, the vaccine could not reach all the people in the affected areas. Huge inequality was seen in the vaccination program. Now even after 2 years the same situation persists. However, efforts are being made to change the situation.
How much do we need to be afraid of mpox?
Mpox is a serious health problem that is ravaging some of the world’s most vulnerable people, including children, and a variant of it is potentially spreading in new ways and rapidly in new parts of Africa, but it is not the same as COVID-19. 19 is not. There is no evidence yet that it spreads through the air as easily as COVID. So there are tools that have proven effective in stopping its spread and helping those at risk.