The latest outbreak of mpox is different to the one that spread around the world in 2022 — and has experts on high alert.
The rapid surge of mpox in multiple Africa n countries has prompted the World Health Organisation to sound its highest level of alert.in response to a severe outbreak of the viral disease in the Democratic Republic of Congo , which has spread to at least three neighbouring countries where it has not been reported before.
Treatment involves managing the symptoms, and can include pain medicines and antibiotics. There are also antiviral medications undergoing clinical trials that may be administered if more serious complications arise.While outbreaks of mpox are not uncommon in the DRC, there has been rapid rise in cases — in the past six months there have been the same number of cases as reported to the WHO for all of last year.
Professor Raina MacIntyre says global health experts have been watching what's happening in the DRC "with great concern".Outside the DRC, clade 1b has been detected in Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda, while other forms of the mpox virus continue to circulate in central and eastern Africa, and other parts of the continent.
"We saw very different epidemiology in 2022, which was mainly sexual transmission, a very low death rate, and in countries that have access to vaccines," Professor MacIntyre says. "The more transmissible it becomes between humans, the more pandemic potential it acquires. That to me is a real worry."
Monkeypox Africa World Health Organization Public Health Emergency Epidemic Infectious Disease WHO
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