On Wednesday, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), called an “emergency” meeting of international experts in response to a surge in cases of a highly infectious variant of the Mpox virus in African countries.
The new variant, identified as highly contagious, has raised serious concerns among WHO experts due to its rapid spread. Speaking at a press briefing in Geneva, Tedros announced that the WHO will assess whether this outbreak should be declared a global emergency.
To support efforts in combating the outbreak, the WHO has allocated $1 million from its emergency fund. The Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that mpox has been detected in 10 African nations this year, with the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) accounting for over 96% of cases and fatalities. Alarmingly, nearly 70% of these cases in the DRC are among children aged 15 and younger, who also represent 85% of the deaths.
Recently, Mpox cases have been reported for the first time in Burundi and Rwanda, with additional cases identified in Kenya and the Central African Republic. Scientists have observed the emergence of a new, more lethal variant of Mpox in a mining town in the DRC, with a fatality rate of up to 10%.
Mpox is primarily transmitted through close contact with infected individuals, including during sexual encounters. In 2022, the WHO declared mpox a global emergency due to its spread to over 70 countries, predominantly affecting gay and bisexual men. While vaccines and treatments have largely controlled the spread in Western countries, these resources are limited in Africa.
Maria Van Kerkhove, head of the WHO’s outbreak department, highlighted the urgency of the situation, stating, “We must not allow the world to simply observe and delay. Now is the time to act.”
For more updates on this developing story, stay tuned to our website
