This comes as the Africa CDC declared mpox outbreaks as a public health emergency yesterday, with over 500 casualties from this virus. To compound matters, there are insufficient vaccines in Africa to prevent the spread.
The pox outbreaks in Congo and elsewhere in Africa were “a public health emergency of international concern,” according to the World Health Organization (WHO). The global virus has stricken children and adults alike in >12 countries, with an emerging new strain on the move. With the limited supply of vaccines in Africa, which is also experiencing a variety and magnitude of other infectious diseases, there’s more to be done globally to manage the outbreaks and protect vulnerable communities. Global cooperation will be vital in containing these outbreaks.
WHO chief, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said he was worried by the circulation of mpox — or monkeypox outside Africa. According to the Africa CDC, this year mpox has been confirmed in 13 African countries with more than 96 percent of cases and deaths from the Democratic Republic of Congo. Cases have jumped 160% and deaths are up nearly 19 percent over the last year. It has so far taken over 14,000 cases reported and 524 deaths which shows the gravity of this outbreak requiring global attention.
Central Africa is in terrible mpox shape, with more cases than ever now being reported including a new variant of the virus that was responsible for the recent spread and one version estimated to have up to 3-4% case fatality rate ongoing at Ebola-like intensity. This is far above the less than 1% death rate observed during the global spread of 2022.
Key concerns include:
Children at Frontier: about 70% of the cases occur in children under 15, who are also the main cause of death.
Refugee fallout: The virus is spreading in refugee camps in the conflict-wracked east of Congo, risking some of its most vulnerable residents.
Global Response: The world has acted far too late to assist in this repugnant event, leaving many of those who keep watch on the developing countries baffled as to why it took so long. They hope that calling an emergency might lead to more resources being poured into fighting the outbreak.
The answer here has to be that we need more international support, not only to contain the outbreak but also so that those who are most vulnerable can protect themselves.