Monkeypox: “a public health emergency” for the AU Health Agency
The African Union (AU) Health Agency declares a “public health emergency“, its highest level of alert, in the face of the growing epidemic of monkeypox on the continent, launching a “clear call to action” to stop its spread.
>> Republic of Congo: monkeypox epidemic declared
>> South Africa: Number of monkeypox cases rises to 13
A total of 38,465 cases of the disease, known as mpox or monkeypox, have been reported in 16 African countries since January 2022, resulting in 1,456 deaths, including a 160% increase in cases in 2024 compared to the previous year, according to data released last week by the health agency Africa CDC.
“MPOX has now crossed borders, affecting thousands of people across our continent (…) I announce, with a heavy heart but with an unwavering commitment to our people, to our African citizens, that we are declaring MPOX as a public health emergency.“continental,” said Africa CDC President Jean Kasenya at a press conference.
“This statement is not a mere formality, it is a clear call to action. It is a recognition that we can no longer afford to be reactive. We must be proactive and aggressive in our efforts to contain and eliminate this scourge.” he added.
This announcement, which will notably make it possible to release funds for access to vaccines and to have a continental response, comes on the eve of the meeting of the emergency committee of the World Health Organization (WHO) to assess whether it is necessary to declare the highest level of health alert at the international level in the face of this disease.
New strain
Africa is facing the spread of a new strain of the virus, detected in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in September 2023 and called “Clade Ib”, more deadly and more transmissible than the previous ones.
Cases have been reported in various areas of the continent (Morocco, Egypt, Sudan, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Nigeria, DRC, Rwanda, Kenya, Mozambique, South Africa, etc.).
According to the Africa CDC, the fatality rate of the virus is over 3% and children under 15 are the most affected, accounting for at least 60% of cases.
MPOX is a viral disease that spreads from animals to humans but is also transmitted through close physical contact with a person infected with the virus.
“Clade Ib” causes rashes all over the body, while previous strains were characterized by localized rashes and lesions on the mouth, face or genitals.
MPOX was first discovered in humans in 1970 in what is now the DRC (formerly Zaire), with the spread of the Clade I subtype (of which the new variant is a mutation), mainly limited since then to countries in western and central Africa, with patients generally being contaminated by infected animals.
In 2022, a global epidemic, carried by subtype clade 2, spread to about 100 countries where the disease was not endemic, affecting mainly homosexual and bisexual men.
The WHO then declared maximum alert in July 2022 in the face of this surge in cases worldwide, then lifted it less than a year later, in May 2023. The epidemic caused some 140 deaths out of around 90,000 cases.
AFP/VNA/CVN
