…As Africa CDC ready to declare emergency
The Africa Centers for Disease Contro and Prevention, Africa CDC, is set to declare an Mpox (monkeypox) emergency following the alarming rate of spread of the viral infection, even as a new variant known as ‘Clade Ib’ moves across the borders of the Democratic Republic of Congo, DRC.
Mpox, formerly known as monkeypox, is an infectious disease caused by a virus. Flu-like symptoms including fever, chills and muscle aches are typically followed by a rash that starts as raised spots, which turn into blisters filled with fluid. These eventually form scabs.
Why an Emergency Declaration?
There is unprecedented spike in reported cases in Africa which have risen by 79 percent from 2022-2023 and by 160 percent from 2023-24. Since the beginning of 2022 and as of 28 July 2024, a total of 37,583 cases and 1,451 deaths (case fatality rate of 3.9 percent) of mpox have been reported from Nigeria and 14 other African countries.
In 2023, 14,957 cases and 739 deaths (CFR: 4.9 percent) were reported from seven countries, representing a 78.5 percent increase in the number of new cases compared to 2022.
A new offshoot of clade I, clade Ib, has been detected in the east of the DRC and has been confirmed in Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda. Scientists believe this variant is playing a role in the spread.
Clade I has, in the past, typically spread by people eating infected bushmeat. Clade Ib is spreading person to person, often via sexual contact, but also through other physical and face-to-face contact, or via contaminated bedding or towels.
Other forms of the virus remain in circulation. The DRC is also recording cases of clade Ia, as is the Central African Republic. Clade II has been reported in Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Nigeria and South Africa, according to the WHO.
Should you be worried?
Africa CDC Director General, Jean Kaseya, is consulting with the Heads of the African Union and the African Union Commission on Tuesday to declare a health emergency of continental security.
The situation is “alarming”, according to Kaseya. This will allow greater coordination between countries as they respond, and require more information sharing between member states.
How is it spreading and who is infected?
The virus is crossing borders with infected people on the move. Mpox is also spreading through sexual networks. Sex workers originally made up a high proportion of those infected.
Are there vaccines?
There are two vaccines but issues with access. Africa CDC says it needs 10 million doses, but only 200,000 are available. A lack of treatments and diagnostics is hampering the response.
Plans for vaccination programmes remain under review but are likely to involve tracing and vaccinating contacts of cases and targeting groups such as people living with HIV, who appear to be at higher risk of severe disease.
The WHO has triggered an emergency use listing for mpox vaccines . WHO issued a call for an Expression of Interest for Emergency Use Listing (EUL) for mpox vaccines. The EUL procedure serves as an emergency use authorization process to expedite the availability of unlicensed medical products.
Currently, two vaccines are in use against mpox, both recommended by the WHO Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunization (SAGE).
A new offshoot of clade I, clade Ib, has been detected in the east of the DRC and has been confirmed in Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda. Scientists believe this variant is playing a role in the spread.
Clade I has, in the past, typically spread by people eating infected bushmeat. Clade Ib is spreading person to person, often via sexual contact, but also through other physical and face-to-face contact, or via contaminated bedding or towels.
Other forms of the virus remain in circulation. The DRC is also recording cases of clade Ia, as is the Central African Republic. Clade II has been reported in Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Nigeria and South Africa, according to the WHO.