Mpox can be spread by close contact. It is usually mild and in rare cases it is fatal. This causes flu-like symptoms and pus-filled wounds on the body. Designating a disease as a ‘Public Health Emergency of International Concern’ (PHEIC), WHO’s highest level of alert, can accelerate research, funding, and international measures and cooperation to stop that disease.
Mpox spread to neighboring countries of Congo also
The outbreak in Congo began with a local variant known as Clade I. But a new variant, clade IB, appears to spread ‘more easily’ through close contact, including sexual contact.
It has spread from Congo to neighboring countries including Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda, due to which WHO has now come into action. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said, ‘It is clear that collective action will have to be taken at the international level to stop these outbreaks and save lives.’
17000 cases found in Africa in 2024
Earlier this week, Africa’s top public health body declared Mpox an emergency for the continent following warnings. The warning said that the infection is spreading at an ‘alarming rate’.
The Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said more than 17,000 suspected mpox cases and 517 deaths have been recorded on the African continent so far this year, a 160 percent increase in cases compared to the same period last year. Cases have been reported in a total of 13 countries.
The virus had spread in 2022 also
A variant of the mpox virus—clade IIB—spread worldwide in 2022, primarily through sexual contact between men who have sex with men. Then WHO declared a public health emergency, which ended after about 10 months.