– In addition to the latest mutation, we are also concerned about the fact that the disease has arisen in the refugee camps around Goma, where people live very cramped, and the disease can spread quickly, says the organisation’s global health expert Jasmin Behrends.
MSF has recently stepped up its work in eastern Congo, where a large number of internally displaced persons fleeing armed conflicts live in difficult conditions.
– Without improved access to vaccines, thousands of people will not be able to protect themselves from infection, including children under the age of 15, said Justin Eyong, coordinator of the organization in the region.
The World Health Organization (WHO) declared a public health crisis on Wednesday as a result of the new outbreaks in Africa.
A total of 18,737 suspected or confirmed cases of mpox have been reported in Africa since the start of the year, including 1,200 cases in one week alone, the African Union (AU) health agency said on Saturday.
Affects children and young people
The latest data shows that around two-thirds of infections in Congo, which currently has around 90 percent of reported cases, affect people under the age of 15. More than 321 children have died.
According to Save the Children newborn children are infected by the virus in Congo’s hospitals.
– It is the most vulnerable children who come out worst from this, says Revati Phalkey, global director for health and nutrition at Save the Children.
Spreads quickly
To date, 3,101 confirmed and 15,636 suspected cases have been reported from twelve member states of the AU. It has resulted in 541 deaths, which corresponds to a mortality rate of 2.89 percent, said a statement from the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
The hardest-hit country is Congo, where the new virus variant was first discovered in September last year. Here, 1,005 cases (222 confirmed, 783 suspected) and 24 deaths have been reported in one week.
The first cases of mpox outside Africa were registered earlier this week, in Sweden and Pakistan.
From animals to humans
Mpox is a viral disease that can spread from animals to humans, but also from human to human through sexual or close physical contact. Symptoms include fever, muscle aches and large boils.
The mpox virus causes skin eruptions all over the body, whereas earlier variants caused localized lesions around the mouth, face or genitals.
The disease, formerly known as monkeypox, was first discovered in humans in the Congo in 1970.
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2024-08-21 03:10:41
