by Africa’s top health authority is taking action against the MPOX outbreak that has spread from the Democratic Republic of Congo to neighboring countries.
The African Union health agency has declared a public health emergency amid growing Mpox outbreaks on the continent, calling the move a “wake-up call to action.”
“It is with a heavy heart, but with an unwavering commitment to our people, to our African citizens, that I declare Mpox a health emergency of continental security,” said Jean Kaseya, director of the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), during an online press conference on Tuesday.
“Mpox has now crossed borders and affects thousands of people across our continent. Families have been torn apart and the pain and suffering are reaching every corner of our continent,” he said.
According to CDC data as of August 4, there have been 38,465 cases of MPOX and 1,456 deaths in Africa since January 2022.
“This statement is not just a formality, but a loud call to action. It is an acknowledgment that we can no longer afford to be reactive. We must be proactive and aggressive to contain and eliminate this threat,” Kaseya said.
Mpox is transmitted through close contact and causes rashes, flu-like symptoms and purulent lesions. Most cases are mild but can be fatal. The disease can be dangerous for children, pregnant women and people with weakened immune systems.
The outbreak has affected several African countries, particularly the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), where the virus was first discovered in humans in 1970.
The outbreak, which has since spread to neighboring countries, began with the spread of an endemic strain called clade 1. However, the new variant, known as clade 1b, appears to spread more easily through routine close contact.
The African CDC warned last week that the rate of spread of the viral infection was alarming, saying that more than 15,000 MPOX cases and 461 deaths have been reported on the continent so far this year, a 160 percent increase over the same period last year.
A milder version of the virus spread in more than 100 countries in 2022, mostly through sexual contact, prompting the World Health Organization (WHO) to declare an international health emergency, the highest level of alert.
Ten months later, the WHO lifted the state of emergency, saying the health crisis was under control.
The WHO said in Geneva on Tuesday that the emergency committee would discuss the spread of a new clade or variant on Wednesday while considering whether to declare a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC).
States of emergency of this kind were declared in 2020 in response to the coronavirus pandemic and in 2022 due to an earlier Mpox outbreak. The aim is to alert health authorities to an increase in cases.
