The African health organization Africa CDC has declared a public health emergency after the infectious viral disease mpox, formerly known as monkeypox, was found in more and more African countries. The decision should stop the spread of the disease.
The virus has been rampant in the Congo for some time. More than 14,000 suspected cases and at least 511 deaths have been reported in the African country since the beginning of this year. The first cases were recently registered in four African countries: Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda. MPox cases have also been identified in Morocco, Egypt, Nigeria and South Africa, among others.
“Mpox crosses borders and affects thousands of people on the continent,” CDC Africa Chair Jean Kaseya said at a press conference. According to the chairman, the state of emergency is not a formality, but a clear call to action. “We need to be proactive to contain and eradicate this scourge.”
This news should make it possible to free up money for vaccines and deal with the epidemic in a coordinated way. On Wednesday / tomorrow, experts will sit together on the emergency committee that the WHO World Health Organization had called to declare a possible health emergency for the disease worldwide.
Mpox can cause a rash and fever and can be life-threatening, especially for children. The viral disease spreads from animals to humans, but it can also be transmitted through close physical contact (including sexual contact) with an infected person. It is said that a new variant of the virus, which appeared in the Congo, is more deadly than the previous version of the virus.
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2024-08-14 05:44:11
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