Jakarta –
The World Health Organization (WHO) says it is ‘very concerned’ about the spread of the deadly Mpox disease in Congo. The reason is, this disease is known to have killed nearly 600 people in the country, especially children.
The Democratic Republic of Congo has reported more than 13,000 cases of Mpox in 2023, twice as many as the last peak of cases in 2020 and spreading to almost every province. Addressing this situation, WHO is working with authorities on response and risk assessment.
On Thursday (8/12/2023), the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a warning about the dangerous Mpox clade I outbreak.
“This virus variant is known to be more virulent. If this virus adapts better to human-to-human transmission, then this will pose a risk,” stressed WHO mpox leader, Rosamund Lewis, quoted by Reuters, Saturday (9/12).
Mpox is a viral infection that spreads through close contact, causing flu-like symptoms and pus-filled lesions. In fact, in most cases, this disease is mild. However, in certain cases, this disease can be deadly.
Last year, the less serious disease, namely class II disease, began to spread globally, mostly through sexual contact between men who have sex with men. WHO then declared a public health emergency.
Lewis highlighted cases of Mpox spreading through sexual contact. According to him, Mpox can also spread to humans through infected animals or between family members in the household. Children and people with weakened immune systems are more at risk, with the disease causing death in up to 10 percent of clade I cases.
“We have little information about who dies from mpox (in the DRC) other than age,” Lewis said, adding that his team still needed more data.
Watch the video “Take note! This is what needs to be done to suppress Mpox cases due to MSM”
(vyp/vyp)
2023-12-09 04:00:13
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