By Linda Naa Deide Aryeetey
Accra, Aug. 23, GNA – The rapid spread of a new virulent strain of the Monkey Pox virus (MPOX) across Africa triggered the declaration by the World Health Organization (WHO) as Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) on August 14th.
Presently, there have been more than 17,500 presumed and confirmed mpox cases in 13 countries, according to Africa C.D.C. Most of the cases and deaths have occurred in Congo.
The disease had previously caused a global outbreak from 2022 to 2023 as it scourged the gay community in parts of Europe.
Caused by an Ortho poxvirus, mpox was first detected in humans in 1970, in the DRC. The disease is considered endemic to countries in central and west Africa, according to global epidemiologists.
In July 2022, the multi-country outbreak of mpox was declared a PHEIC as it spread rapidly via sexual contact across a range of countries where the virus had not been seen before.
That PHEIC was declared over in May 2023 after there had been a sustained decline in global cases.
Mpox has been reported in the DRC for more than a decade, and the number of cases reported each year has increased steadily over the period.
Common symptoms of mpox include a rash lasting for two to four weeks, which may be started with or followed by fever, headache, muscle aches, back pain, low energy and swollen lymph nodes.
The rash looks like blisters and can affect the face, palms of the hands, soles of the feet, groin, genital and/or anal regions, mouth, throat or the eyes.
The number of sores can range from one to several thousand.
People with mpox are considered infectious at least until all their blisters have crusted over, the scabs have fallen off and a new layer of skin has formed underneath, and all lesions on the eyes and in the body have healed.
Typically, this takes two to four weeks, reports show that people can be re-infected after they’ve had mpox.
People with severe mpox may require hospitalisation, supportive care and antiviral medicines to reduce the severity of lesions and shorten time to recovery.
The emergence last year and rapid spread of a new virus strain in DRC, clade 1b, which appears to be spreading mainly through sexual networks, and its detection in countries neighbouring the DRC is especially concerning, and one of the main reasons for the declaration of the PHEIC.
In the past month, over 100 laboratory-confirmed cases of clade 1b have been reported in four countries neighbouring the DRC that have not reported mpox before: Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda.
Medical experts believe the true number of cases to be higher as a large proportion of clinically compatible cases have not been tested.
Several outbreaks of different clades of mpox have occurred in different countries, with different modes of transmission and different levels of risk.
The two vaccines currently in use for mpox are recommended by WHO’s Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunization, and are also approved by WHO-listed national regulatory authorities, as well as by individual countries including Nigeria and the DRC.
Last week, the Director-General triggered the process for Emergency Use Listing for mpox vaccines, which will accelerate vaccine access for lower-income countries which have not yet issued their own national regulatory approval.
Emergency Use Listing also enables partners including Gavi and UNICEF to procure vaccines for distribution.
The WHO says it is working with countries and vaccine manufacturers on potential vaccine donations and coordinating with partners through the interim Medical Countermeasures Network to facilitate equitable access to vaccines, therapeutics, diagnostics and other tools.
The WHO anticipates an immediate funding requirement of an initial US$15 million to support surveillance, preparedness and response activities.
A needs assessment is being undertaken across the three levels of the Organization.
To allow for an immediate scale up, WHO has released US$ 1.45 million from the WHO Contingency Fund for Emergencies and may need to release more in the coming days.
The Organization appeals to donors to fund the full extent of needs of the mpox response.
Meanwhile, Ghana’s Ministry of Health is yet make public its preparedness or contingency plans for the marauding virus on the African continent.
GNA