The World Health Organization has expressed “extreme concern” over the spread of a severe form of mpox, which has killed nearly 600 people, mostly children, in Congo this year.
The African country reported more than 13,000 cases of mpox (monkey pox) in 2023, more than twice as many as during the previous peak in 2020, and the disease is present in almost every province of the country. The WHO is collaborating with the Congolese authorities to organize a health response and to assess the risks, reports Reuters, quoted by Agerpres.
On Thursday, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued an alert regarding the emergence of a dangerous outbreak of clade (group) I mpox.
“That variant of the virus is known to be more virulent. If it adapts better to human-to-human transmission, then it poses a risk,” Rosamund Lewis, the WHO’s mpox coordinator, told Reuters.
Mpox is a viral infection that spreads through close contact, causing flu-like symptoms and pus-filled skin lesions. Most cases are mild, but the disease can sometimes be fatal.
Last year, a less severe form, clade II, began to spread globally, largely through sexual contact between men who have sex with other men, and the WHO declared the mpox epidemic a public health emergency.
The new evidence showing that the clade I virus can also spread through sexual contact is worrying, said Rosamund Lewis. Mpox can also be transmitted to humans from infected animals or between family members within households, she added. Children and people with weakened immune systems are more exposed to this risk, the disease causing a death rate of up to 10% for cases included in clade I.
“We have very little information about who dies from mpox in DR Congo, except for age data,” said Rosamund Lewis, adding that the WHO needs more data.
The WHO is also concerned about an outbreak of mpox among sex workers in South Kivu, because of the vulnerability of this population and the risk of the infection spreading to neighboring countries, she said.
The agency is working with the Congolese Government to resolve regulatory hurdles to allow the African country to purchase or accept donations of mpox vaccines, which are currently available in DR Congo only in ongoing clinical trials. There is also an ongoing trial of an antiviral treatment for mpox.
2023-12-10 07:11:44
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