The African Union’s health watchdog said Thursday that it was “likely” to declare a public health emergency next week due to the continent’s expanding mpox outbreak.
The decision will provide resources to tackle the outbreak, including the purchase of much-needed vaccines, and will initiate a coordinated continental response to the virus.
During an online media briefing, Jean Kaseya, head of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), stated that declaring a health emergency was “likely” next week.
The Africa CDC reports that at least 16 of the continent’s 55 countries have been infected by mpox.
Some 38,465 cases and 1,456 deaths have been reported in Africa since January 2022.
Last week, Africa CDC reported 887 cases and five deaths.
“We are moving from two outbreaks per week to three new outbreaks per week,” Kaseya said, adding that there was a shortage of vaccines on the continent.
Formerly known as monkeypox, mpox is an infectious disease caused by a virus transmitted to humans by infected animals but can also be passed from human to human through close physical contact.
The disease causes fever, muscular aches and large boil-like skin lesions.
The World Health Organization announced Wednesday it was urgently convening an expert committee to advise on whether the growing mpox outbreak in Africa should be declared an international emergency.
“The committee will meet as soon as possible and will be made up of independent experts from a range of relevant disciplines from around the world,” WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a press conference.
The committee will advise him on whether the outbreak represents a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC) — the highest alarm the WHO can sound.
Only Tedros, as the WHO director-general, can declare a PHEIC, based on the expert committee’s advice. A declaration then triggers emergency responses in countries worldwide under the legally binding International Health Regulations.
Deadlier Strain
Mpox was detected in humans for the first time in 1970 in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
The virus is classified into two subtypes: Clade I, which is more virulent and lethal and is native to the Congo Basin in central Africa, and Clade II, which is found in West Africa.
The Clade IIb subclade caused an increase in mpox infections globally in May 2022, primarily affecting gay and bisexual men.
The mpox strain, known as the Clade Ib subclade, which has been spreading in the Democratic Republic of the Congo since September, is more deadly and transmissible than previous variants.
The Clade Ib strain causes skin rashes all over the body, as opposed to other strains, which often just affect the mouth, face, and genitals.