An outbreak of mpox has been declared a public health emergency in Africa by the continent’s top health body.
Scientists from the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) have expressed alarm at the speed by which a new strain of the disease has been spreading.
More than 15,000 mpox cases and 461 deaths have been reported on the continent this year – a 160% increase in cases compared with the same period in 2023, while deaths have jumped by around 19%.
Mpox, previously called monkeypox, has spread from the Democratic Republic of Congo to neighbouring countries. A total of 18 nations have reported cases.
The public health body said 96% of all cases and deaths were in DR Congo.
Officials at Africa CDC said nearly 70% of cases in the country are in children younger than 15, who also accounted for 85% of deaths.
Mpox causes flu-like symptoms and pus-filled lesions. Most cases are mild but it can be deadly. Jean Claude Udahemuka, from the University of Rwanda, said last month that Clade 1b is “undoubtedly the most dangerous so far of all the known strains of mpox”.
Jean Kaseya, head of Africa CDC, said: “We declare today this public health emergency of continental security to mobilise our institutions, our collective will, and our resources to act swiftly and decisively.”
Kaseya said the continent needs more than 10 million vaccine doses but only about 200,000 are available.
“We have a clear plan to secure more than 10 million doses in Africa, starting with three million doses in 2024,” he added, without saying where the vaccines would be sourced. Sky news
