NAIROBI: The African Union's health regulator said on Thursday it was “likely” to declare a public health emergency next week due to the growing outbreak of MPOX disease in Africa.
The decision will help unlock funding to fight the outbreak, including for critically needed vaccines, and spur a coordinated continental response to the virus.
Jean Kaseya, head of the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), said during a virtual press briefing that a health emergency declaration was “highly likely” to happen within the next week.
At least 16 of the continent's 55 countries are affected by mpox, according to the Africa CDC.
There have been 38,465 reported cases and 1,456 deaths in Africa since January 2022.
Of these, 887 cases and five deaths were reported last week, according to the Africa CDC.
“We are going from two outbreaks a week to three new outbreaks a week,” Kaseya said, adding that vaccines are in short supply on the continent.
Mpox, formerly known as monkeypox, is an infectious disease caused by a virus that is spread to humans by infected animals, but can also spread from person to person through close physical contact.
The disease causes fever, muscle aches, and large abscess-like lesions on the skin.
The World Health Organization announced on Wednesday that it had convened an urgent expert panel to advise on whether to declare the growing mpox outbreak in Africa a public health emergency of international concern.
“The committee will meet as soon as possible and will include independent experts from a range of relevant disciplines from around the world,” WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said at a news briefing.
The committee will advise him on whether the outbreak constitutes a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC), the highest level of warning that WHO can issue.
Only Tedros, as WHO Director-General, can declare a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) on the advice of an expert panel. Such a declaration would trigger an emergency response in countries around the world under legally binding international health regulations.
Mpox was first discovered in humans in 1970 in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
The virus is divided into two subtypes: the more virulent and dangerous Clade I type, which originated in the Congo Basin in Central Africa, and Clade II type, which originated in West Africa.
In May 2022, mpox infections surged worldwide, mainly affecting gay and lesbian men, due to the Clade IIb subgroup.
The mpox strain, known as the Clade Ib subgroup and more transmissible than previous forms, has been rapidly increasing in the Democratic Republic of Congo since September, spreading from person to person.
Clade Ib strains cause a skin rash throughout the body, unlike other strains where the lesions and rashes are usually limited to the mouth, face, and genitals.
