The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared the mpox outbreaks in Congo and other parts of Africa a global emergency. This alarming situation has seen cases confirmed among children and adults in over a dozen countries, with a new form of the virus spreading rapidly. Unfortunately, the continent faces a severe shortage of vaccine doses, exacerbating the crisis.

A Public Health Emergency

Earlier this week, the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) announced that the mpox outbreaks had reached the level of a public health emergency. With over 500 deaths reported, the Africa CDC has urgently called for international assistance to curb the virus’s spread.

“This is something that should concern us all,” stated WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. “The potential for further spread within Africa and beyond is very worrying.”

Rising Cases and Deaths

The Africa CDC has reported that mpox, also known as monkeypox, has been detected in 13 countries this year. Alarmingly, more than 96% of all cases and deaths are in Congo. Compared to the same period last year, cases have surged by 160% and deaths by 19%. So far, there have been over 14,000 cases and 524 deaths.

The Need for International Support

Salim Abdool Karim, a South African infectious diseases expert and chair of the Africa CDC emergency group, emphasized the urgency of the situation. “We are now in a situation where mpox poses a risk to many more neighbors in and around central Africa,” he said. The new version of mpox spreading from Congo appears to have a death rate of about 3-4%.

In 2022, WHO declared mpox a global emergency after it spread to more than 70 countries that had not previously reported mpox, mostly affecting gay and bisexual men. In that outbreak, fewer than 1% of people died.

Michael Marks, a professor of medicine at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, said declaring these latest mpox outbreaks in Africa an emergency is warranted if that might lead to more support to contain them. “It’s a failure of the global community that things had to get this bad to release the resources needed,” he said.

Impact on Children and Vulnerable Populations

Officials at the Africa CDC reported that nearly 70% of cases in Congo are in children younger than 15, who also accounted for 85% of deaths. Jacques Alonda, an epidemiologist working in Congo with international charities, expressed particular concern about the spread of mpox in refugee camps in the country’s conflict-ridden east.

“The worst case I’ve seen is that of a six-week-old baby who was just two weeks old when he contracted mpox,” Alonda said. The baby was infected due to hospital overcrowding, which forced him and his mother to share a room with an undiagnosed patient.

Save the Children highlighted that Congo’s health system was already collapsing under the strain of malnutrition, measles, and cholera.

New Outbreaks and Variants

The U.N. health agency reported that mpox was recently identified for the first time in four East African countries: Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, and Uganda. All of these outbreaks are linked to the one in Congo. In Ivory Coast and South Africa, health authorities have reported outbreaks of a different and less dangerous version of mpox that spread worldwide in 2022.

Earlier this year, scientists reported the emergence of a new, deadlier form of mpox in a Congolese mining town. This variant, which can kill up to 10% of those infected, is feared to spread more easily. Mpox primarily spreads through close contact with infected individuals, including through sexual contact.

Unlike previous mpox outbreaks, where lesions were mostly seen on the chest, hands, and feet, the new form causes milder symptoms and lesions on the genitals. This makes it harder to spot, meaning people might unknowingly infect others.

Conclusion

The mpox outbreak in Africa is a dire situation that requires immediate global attention and support. With the virus spreading rapidly and affecting vulnerable populations, it is crucial for the international community to step in and provide the necessary resources to contain this public health emergency.