Africa CDC Declares Mpox a Public Health Emergency

#Health
Africa CDC Declares Mpox a Public Health Emergency

Loveworld / 15 mins

August 14, 2024

1 min read

The African Union’s health agency has declared a public health emergency due to a significant mpox outbreak across the continent, calling it a “clarion call for action.”
Jean Kaseya, head of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), announced the decision during an online briefing on Tuesday. He stated, “With a heavy heart but with unwavering commitment to our people, we declare mpox a public health emergency of continental security.”
The outbreak, which originated in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) where the virus was first identified in humans in 1970, has now spread to neighboring countries. While initially driven by the endemic clade 1 strain, the new clade 1b variant seems to spread more easily through close contact.
The Africa CDC reported last week that there have been over 15,000 mpox cases and 461 deaths this year alone, marking a 160 percent increase compared to the same period last year. This surge is causing alarm due to the rapid rate of spread.
In 2022, a milder form of the virus spread to over 100 countries, primarily through sexual contact, leading the World Health Organization (WHO) to declare a public health emergency of international concern.