…warns of high mpox spread risk globally
The Africa Centre for Disease Control (CDC) is concerned that cross-border movements, and insufficient response capacities, including vaccine shortages, pose significant challenges to the containment of mpox on the continent.
The centre also flagged low public awareness, high vulnerability due to factors such as HIV and malnutrition, and limited understanding of mpox transmission as persisting challenges which it warned is heightening the risk of mpox spreading to neighbouring countries and globally.
The health agency, on its official website on Wednesday said the outbreak is further complicated by a high case fatality rate of over 3·9%, particularly among children younger than 15 years, who account for 60% of cases.
The high risk of severe infection among people living with HIV, considerations for asymptomatic infections, poor vaccination strategies, limited access to medical countermeasures, and low detection rates were other concerns.
Read also: The fear of Mpox!
On Aug 13, 2024, the Centre declared mpox a public health emergency of continental security (PHECS) in Africa, acting under its mandate to address significant public health threats.
The decision was driven by the worsening mpox situation on the continent: since 2022, 40 874 cases and 1512 deaths have been reported across 15 African Union (AU) member states.
In 2024 alone, the Africa CDC reported 17 541 cases and 517 deaths from 13 AU member states. These figures represent a 160% and 19% increase in the number of cases and deaths, respectively, in 2024 compared with the same period in 2023. A 79% increase in the number of cases was observed in 2023 compared with 2022. The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) accounts for 96% of all cases and 97% of all deaths reported in 2024.
Read also: Mpox declared public health emergency in Africa
Investigations in the DRC suggest that heterosexual transmission, especially among female sex workers (9%), is driving the outbreak, contrasting with the spread mainly among men who have sex with men in Europe in 2022. The high prevalence among women raises concerns about vertical transmission risks and adverse pregnancy outcomes.
Mpox is a rare viral zoonotic infectious disease ( disease of animals transmitted from animals to humans) that is endemic in several African countries including the tropical rainforests of Central and West Africa. The exact reservoir of the virus is still unknown although rodents, squirrels and monkeys are suspected to play a part in transmission.
The World Health Organization declared the latest mpox outbreak in Africa a “public health emergency of international concern” a category that was also used for Ebola and Covid-19 outbreaks.
The Mpox virus can spread both from animal to human and from human to human. Animal-to-human transmission may occur by direct contact with the blood, body fluids, skin or mucosal lesions of infected animals e.g., monkeys, squirrels, and rodents.
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