2024-08-15 03:45:03
A doctor examines a child infected with MPOX at the Munigi Treatment Center (Democratic Republic of Congo) on July 19, 2024.
Strengthen mobilization against mpox (formerly known as monkeypox, monkeypox). Following the advice of a panel of experts, World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus (known as “Dr. Tedros”) decided on Wednesday, August 14, to declare an international public health emergency (Usppi ) The disease has been raging in more than a dozen African countries since the beginning of the year.
This is the second time since 2022 that the organization has used the highest alert level for the disease. years, then 2019-2020), polio since 2014, Zika (2016) and Covid-19 (2020-2023). Notably, Usppi allowed the UN organization to further prioritize its means of combating MPOX while its very limited budget was set at its annual meeting in May. It is also the only tool for urgent mobilization of all Member States in crisis situations.
“Dr. Tedros justified the decision at a press conference on Wednesday night,” “Detection and rapid spread of new branches [une souche virale] Located in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo [RDC]its detection in previously unreported neighboring countries, and the potential for its spread in Africa and beyond ».
This new clade, named “1b”, was first discovered in September 2023 in the Kamituga mining area in South Kivu Province. It has since spread to some neighboring countries hitherto unaffected by the disease: Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda, where some 90 cases have been detected in recent months.
More than 17,000 suspected cases since the beginning of the year
More than 17,000 suspected cases have been reported in more than 13 countries since the start of the year, and 548 people have died so far in the Democratic Republic of Congo alone. This is an accelerated spread of the epidemic compared with more than 7,000 cases recorded in 2022 and nearly 15,000 cases in 2023. “Given the many weaknesses in surveillance, laboratory testing and contact tracing, this is just the tip of the iceberg”comments Africa CDC, the public health agency of the African Union, in press release.
“This is a situation we should all be concerned about”added “Dr. Tedros”, specifically stating: “WHO is committed to coordinating the global response in the coming days and weeks, working closely with each affected country and leveraging its presence on the ground to prevent transmission, treat infected people and save lives. »
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