A fast-spreading mpox outbreak in Africa was declared a continent-wide public health emergency, as the region’s main health advisory body invoked this power for the first time as it moved to marshal resources.
The declaration will prompt countries in the region to share timely information on mpox’s spread with the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, helping it to better tap financial aid, Jean Kaseya, director general of the Addis Ababa-based agency, said on Tuesday.
“Today I commit to you that African citizens will lead this fight with every resource at our disposal,” he told a virtual press briefing. “We’ll work with government, international partners and local communities to ensure that every African, from the bustling cities to the remote area, is protected.”
A mutated mpox strain has spread to at least six African countries, infecting about 15,000 people and killing more than 500 in the Democratic Republic of the Congo this year alone. The variant was first reported in the DRC less than 12 months ago.
While mpox vaccines are available, few have made their way to Africa — the only continent where the disease is endemic. At about $100 per dose, the vaccines are currently very expensive, Kaseya has previously said.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) defines Mpox, also known as monkeypox, as a viral infection that can spread between people or through surfaces that have been touched by people infected.
It is also possible for the virus to be passed from wild animals to people who have contact with them. Mpox is part of the same family that causes smallpox.
It can have symptoms such as rashes, fever, headache, muscle aches, back pain, low energy, and swollen glands. The rash is self-absolving, typically between two to four weeks.
WHO notes that the rash looks like blisters or sores, and can affect the face, palms of the hands, soles of the feet, groin, genital, and/or anal regions.
Patients with severe symptoms may show signs of more widespread lesions, and blood and lung infections. Depending on other underlying factors, it can result in death.
According to WHO, three types of vaccines are available and recommended for those who have close contact with infected patients. However, it does not recommend mass vaccination.
While 96 percent of all cases, including deaths, have been reported in just one country – DRC, health officials have called for ramped-up surveillance measures to contain the situation.
In a recent post on X, WHO Director-General Tedros Ghebreyesus called for more funding and support to interrupt disease transmission.
“I am considering convening an International Health Regulations Emergency Committee to advise me on whether the outbreak of Mpox should be declared a public health emergency of international concern,” he said in the post.
Meanwhile, Africa CDC has received an emergency approval of $10.4 million) from the African Union, money drawn from the existing Covid-19 funds to combat the outbreak.
CDC said Mpox death rate this year, at about three percent, has been higher in Africa than in any other part of the world. In 2022 global Mpox, less than one percent of those infected died.
