NAIROBI: The African Union's health watchdog said on Thursday that a public health emergency would be “likely” to be declared next week due to a growing outbreak of mpox on the continent.
The decision unlocks funding to fight the outbreak, including providing much-needed vaccines, and building a coordinated continental response to the virus.
During an online news conference, the head of the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC Africa), Jean Cassia, said the declaration of a health emergency is “probably” next week.
According to the African CDC, at least 16 of the continent's 55 countries have been infected with mpox.
As of January 2022, about 38,465 cases and 1,456 deaths have been reported in Africa.
Of these, 887 cases and five deaths were reported last week, according to data from the African Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
“We're going from two outbreaks a week to three new outbreaks a week,” Kasia said. And added that there is a lack of vaccines in this continent.
mpox, formerly known as monkey pox, is an infectious disease caused by a virus that is transmitted to humans by infected animals, but can also be transmitted from person to person through close physical contact.
This disease causes fever, muscle aches and large skin lesions like pimples.
The World Health Organization announced on Wednesday that it would urgently set up an expert committee to advise on whether the growing outbreak of mpox in Africa should be declared an international emergency.
“The committee will be established as soon as possible and will be composed of independent experts from a range of relevant disciplines from around the world,” World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said at a press conference.
The committee advises him on whether the outbreak is a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) – the highest alarm the WHO can sound.
Only Tedros, as Director-General of the World Health Organization, can declare a PHEIC based on the recommendation of the Expert Committee. A declaration then triggers emergency responses in countries around the world under binding international health regulations.
Mpox was first discovered in humans in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in 1970.
There are two subtypes of this virus: the more dangerous and deadly Clade I virus, which is endemic to the Congo Basin in Central Africa. and Clade II, endemic to West Africa.
In May 2022, mpox infection increased worldwide, mostly affecting gay and bisexual men, as it was due to the clade IIb subclade.
More lethal and transmissible than previous forms, the mpox strain that has been on the rise in the DRC since September, known as subclade Clade Ib, spreads from person to person.
The Clade Ib strain causes a skin rash all over the body, unlike other strains where lesions and rashes are usually limited to the mouth, face, and genitals.
