<
https://www.theguardian.com/world/article/2024/aug/14/mpox-outbreak-africa-public-health-emergency-declares-who>
"An outbreak in Africa of mpox, the disease formerly known as monkeypox,
resembles the early days of HIV, scientists have said, as the World Health
Organization declared it a public health emergency.
The declaration must accelerate access to testing, vaccines and therapeutic
drugs in the affected areas, medical experts urged, and kickstart campaigns to
reduce stigma surrounding the virus.
More resources for research were also vital, they said, with “massive unknowns”
about a new variant spreading between people in the Democratic Republic of the
Congo. As of 4 August, there had been 38,465 cases of mpox and 1,456 deaths in
Africa since January 2022, including more than 14,000 cases and 524 deaths in
the DRC alone this year.
These included clades I and II of the virus, as well as a new type, clade Ib –
an offshoot of clade I, which appears to be driving the outbreak in the DRC and
neighbouring countries, and to which children appear particularly vulnerable.
The World Health Organization said the outbreak was serious enough to declare a
“public health emergency of international concern”, the category used in the
past for Ebola outbreaks, Covid-19 and a 2022 mpox surge in Europe.
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the director general of the WHO, said the situation
was “very worrying” and warranted the “highest level of alarm under
international health law”. He highlighted the emergence of clade Ib in the east
of the DRC and its detection in neighbouring countries.
The WHO has released $1.5m from its contingency fund and plans to release more,
he said, calling for donors to step up to fund the rest of the $15m needed for
its efforts in the region."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
