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The World Health Organization on Wednesday declared an ongoing empox outbreak in Africa. Global health emergencyThe highest level of alert under international health law. The African Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a public health emergency for the continent on Tuesday.
The deadly virus is spreading rapidly in the Democratic Republic of Congo and has reached at least four countries in Africa that have not been previously affected. WHO director-general Theodore Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the threat of further global spread was “very serious”.
“The consensus was that the current outbreak of mpox, the increase in mpox, is a rare event,” said Dimi Ogoina, chair of the WHO's emergency committee. “It is the tip of the iceberg in Africa. … We don't know or have a full picture of this mpox burden.
Experts around the world are closely monitoring the situation. Currently, the risk to the United States is considered low. Here's what you need to know.
Empox, formerly known as monkeypox, is a viral disease related to the now extinct smallpox virus. It can be spread through touching, kissing, or sexual contact, as well as through contaminated materials such as sheets, clothing, and needles. World Health Organization.
Early symptoms are similar to the flu – fever, chills, fatigue, headache and muscle weakness – and often include pain or itching. Rash With raised sores that itch and resolve over a period of weeks.
Empox is classified into two genetic clades I and II. A clade is a collection of viruses that has evolved over decades with diverse genetic and clinical diversity.
Clade II was responsible for a global outbreak that was declared a global health emergency from July 2022 to May 2023.
But the new epidemic is led by clade I, which is the cause A more serious disease. The subtype responsible for most of the ongoing distribution, clade Ib, is relatively new.
“For a number of reasons, Ib has emerged as a new mutation that is good for humans,” said Dr. Daniel Bausch, senior advisor for global health at FIND, an international non-profit organization focused on health equity.
The virus is usually transmitted from animals to humans, he said. But once a mutation has adapted, it can be passed on by humans and cause large epidemics.
Clade Ib is new and worrisome, but the current situation is compounded by several overlapping outbreaks.
“We are not experiencing a single-clade epidemic. “We are dealing with epidemics of different clades in different countries with different routes of transmission and different levels of risk,” Tedros said on Wednesday.
Some outbreaks of clade I mpox have killed as many as 10% of infected people, although recent outbreaks have had lower mortality rates. According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The death rate of clade II is less than 0.2%.
Certain groups – including children, those with weakened immune systems and pregnant women – are at greater risk of more serious infections.
Still, monitoring of mpox is very incomplete, and there is much to learn, Bausch said.
“It's a virus that's in the environment and is maintained in small mammals in Africa, and we don't have a definitive test. When you have a lab on your side, and trained lab staff and technology, it's not necessarily difficult to diagnose mpox infection. But of course, these cases are mostly in rural areas. Trying to get a sample and get it to the lab is a difficult thing.
Our understanding of infectiousness and mortality risk may be skewed by limitations that tend to identify only the most severe cases, he said. Regardless, increased prevalence increases the public health burden and the number of affected individuals.
“It's a disease that causes a lot of pain and suffering, a lot of fear, a lot of panic,” Bausch said.
For decades, empox has been prevalent in Central and West Africa. The majority of clade I cases are from Central Africa and the Democratic Republic of Congo, while the majority of clade II are from Nigeria.
In the year In 2022, concern grew as cases began to spread across Europe North America.
Widespread global spread is a key reason why empox has been declared a global health emergency, but the geography of the current outbreak is different from the outbreak two years ago.
Now MPOX is reaching previously unaffected African countries. While most cases are still reported in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, cases have also been reported in at least 13 countries on the continent. African Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
And on Thursday, Sweden confirmed its first case of Clade I mpox, the first to be found outside of Africa.
“We've all heard it a million times,” Bausch says of how common international travel is in particular. “There are many reasons to worry and jump too early.”
There is also an element of fairness and human rights, he said. In the year The 2022 Global Health Emergency Declaration sets a precedent and should be given the same urgency and focus as it is in many high-income countries regarding transmission in many countries in Africa.
Vaccines against mpox are available, but not widely available in Africa.
No cases of Clade I mpox have been identified in the United States, but the US CDC Recommended People who have had or are at high risk for measles in the U.S. in the past week should be vaccinated.
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The Vaccine Alliance, known as Gavi, has up to $500 million to provide mpox vaccines to affected countries, including the Democratic Republic of Congo and surrounding countries. From 2026, Gavi will establish a global stockpile of mpox vaccines, similar to existing cholera, ebola, meningitis and yellow fever vaccines. News release List Thursday.
But the World Health Organization emphasizes that vaccines are only part of the answer; Capturing the spread will require additional monitoring, investigation and research to fill the “knowledge gaps.”
The organization has signed an Emergency Use Procedure for both Mpox vaccines and developed a regional response plan that requires $15 million, with $1.5 million released from the World Health Organization's Emergency Fund. Half a million vaccines are in stock, and another 2.4 million could be produced by the end of the year, said Tim Nguyen of the World Health Organization's Emergencies Programme. The Democratic Republic of Congo and Nigeria will be the first to receive these vaccines, added Dr. Abdu Salam Gueye, Regional Director of Emergencies for Africa.
's Maya Davis and Kathleen Danaher contributed to this report.
Correction: This story has been updated to correct the death rate of clade II mpox.