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Image caption In Africa, 15,000 cases of monkeypox have been detected since the beginning of the yearArticle information
- Author, Writing
- Role, BBC News World
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45 minutes ago
The World Health Organization (WHO) declared on Wednesday that the monkeypox outbreak affecting several African countries constitutes a public health emergency of international concern.
The decision was unanimously taken by a WHO emergency committee, which fears that a more deadly and transmissible strain of the virus (also known as monkeypox) has reached previously unaffected parts of Africa.
On Tuesday, the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention declared the outbreak a public health emergency of continental security, after recording 15,000 cases and 461 deaths from the virus in 2024 alone. This means there has been a 160% increase in diagnoses and a 19% increase in deaths compared to the same period last year.
“The detection and rapid spread of a new clade (variant) of mpox in eastern DRC, its detection in neighbouring countries that had not previously reported it, and the potential for further spread to Africa and beyond are of great concern,” WHO Director-General Adhanom Tedros Ghebreyesus said at a press conference on Wednesday.
“A coordinated international response is essential to stop this outbreak and save lives,” he said.
Most cases are concentrated in the Democratic Republic of Congo, although cases have also been detected in neighboring countries such as Burundi, Uganda, Kenya and Rwanda.
The new variant, known as clade 1b, is more severe than the one that prompted the WHO to declare an international alert from 2022 until May 2023.
The declaration of an international emergency means that countries around the world must take measures to stop the spread of the virus under international health regulations.
The mpox virus is a member of the orthopoxvirus family and was first detected in humans in 1970 in the Democratic Republic of Congo. It is considered endemic in some countries in West and Central Africa.
Symptoms of monkeypox are similar to those of smallpox, although somewhat less pronounced. They begin with fever, headache, muscle aches, chills, and fatigue.
The main difference between the symptoms of smallpox and monkeypox is that monkeypox causes swelling of the lymph nodes (lymphadenopathy), while smallpox does not.
It is normal to develop a rash that often starts on the face and then spreads to other parts of the body, especially the hands and feet. After a short time, the rash changes and goes through different stages before crusting over and falling off.
Symptoms
Most cases of smallpox are mild and go away within a few weeks, but some cases can be more serious and lead to death.
After infection, it usually takes 5 to 21 days for the first symptoms to appear.
The rash, often itchy and painful, evolves and goes through several stages before forming a scab which then falls off.
The infection usually clears up after 14 to 21 days.
The UK Health Safety Agency (UKHSA) notes that initially, symptoms of the disease often resemble those of the flu and include:
. muscle pain
. swelling of the lymph nodes
It is essential to monitor the onset of symptoms, because the mpox virus, unlike the covid virus, is not transmitted before the onset of symptoms.
The potential spread from person to person does not occur only through sexual contact.
Ukhsa explains that transmission can be done by any means:
. contact with clothing worn by an infected person (including bed linen or towels)
. direct contact with lesions or scabs on the skin of the infected person
. the coughing or sneezing of an infected person.
There are two smallpox vaccines recommended by WHO and approved by national health authorities in several countries.
