The outbreak of Mpox monkeypox continues to be terrible, 570 people died in this country

Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia – Cases and deaths from mpox or monkey pox in the Democratic Republic of Congo continue to rise as the central African country awaits vaccines from the United States and Japan.

Health Minister Samuel-Roger Kamba said in recent days, the number of cases had increased from 16,000 to 16,700, and the death toll rose from 548 to the death of “just over 570 “.

“This is a continental crisis,” he was quoted as saying AFPTuesday (20/8/2024), according to the call of the World Health Organization (WHO) to affected countries to increase vaccination programs to deal with the more deadly mpox variant.

WHO on Wednesday declared the rise in mpox in Africa as a global public health emergency. Outbreaks have been reported in Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda since July. A case of the new variant was also found in Sweden.

The United States has pledged 50,000 doses of vaccine for Congo, and Japan agreed on Monday to send 3.5 million doses of vaccine “especially for children,” according to unnamed medical sources. The source also said that Congo plans to vaccinate 4 million people, including 3.5 million children.

“I hope the vaccine will arrive next week,” said Kamba. “Vaccines are the solution to our problems,” he said, urging the public to get vaccinated immediately.

WHO urges

MPox cases have now appeared in all 26 provinces of this country with approximately 100 million people. The WHO has declared the outbreak a “public health emergency of international concern” – the highest alert category.

On Monday, WHO released updated guidelines to address the surge in cases, including by “rapidly adapting vaccination strategies in affected areas.”

WHO urges countries to “increase efforts to thoroughly investigate cases and outbreaks of mpox” to understand the spread of the disease and prevent transmission “to household and community members.”

Health authorities must report new cases every week and “identify, monitor and support contacts of people with mpox to prevent further spread,” the WHO said.

WHO also stressed the importance of “cross-border cooperation” to monitor and treat suspected mpox cases “without impeding unnecessary travel and trade in general that negatively impacts local economies, regional or national. “

Although mpox has been known for decades, the new, more lethal and transmissible variant – clade 1b – causes death in about 3.6 percent of cases, with children being the most affected group. in danger.

Kamba said mpox is now increasingly attacking young people in the Congo, including many children under the age of 15.

Since the beginning of this year, 18,737 suspected or confirmed cases of mpox have been reported in Africa, including 1,200 cases in the past week, according to the African Union health agency.

The mpox virus, formerly known as monkeypox, was first discovered in monkeys in Denmark in 1958. The disease was first discovered in humans in the Congo in 1970.

mpox is transmitted from infected animals to humans, but it can also spread from person to person through close physical contact. This disease causes fever, muscle aches, and large skin lesions such as boils.

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