WHO Declares Monkeypox A Public Health Emergency
FORBES – The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), the African Union’s health watchdog and the top public health body on the continent, said a growing mpox outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo and neighboring countries constitutes a “public health emergency of continental security” on Tuesday.
The emergency designation is the agency’s first since launching in 2017 and comes amid growing concern among scientists over the rapid, unchecked spread of a concerning mpox strain that is more lethal than the version of the virus responsible for the global outbreak in 2022.
The variant, called mpox clade Ib (1B), is an offshoot of the clade I virus that has caused sporadic outbreaks in the DRC for decades and appears to spread more easily between people through routine close contact, especially among children.
Clade I infections have historically been confined to central Africa, predominantly the DRC, but the Africa CDC said the disease has now spread beyond Congo to at least 13 countries, with four—Burundi, Rwanda, Uganda and Kenya—reporting their very first clade I cases in recent months.
Africa CDC chief Jean Kaseya stressed the declaration is “not merely a formality” but a “clarion call to action” in recognition of a “crisis that demands our collective action.”
Kaseya said “there is no need for travel restrictions at this time,” adding the decision will unlock funding and other resources and mobilize institutions in affected countries to empower health officials to act “swiftly and decisively” in the face of outbreaks …
