NAIROBI: The African Union's health watchdog said on Thursday it was “likely” to declare a public health emergency next week due to the continent's growing mpox epidemic.
The decision will free up funding to fight the epidemic, including the purchase of much-needed vaccines, and launch a coordinated continental response to the virus.
Jean Kaseya, head of the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), said during an online media briefing that a declaration of a health emergency is “likely” next week.
According to the African CDC, at least 16 of the continent's 55 countries have been affected by mpox.
As of January 2022, 38,465 cases and 1,456 deaths have been reported in Africa.
Of those, 887 cases and five deaths were reported last week, according to data from the African CDC.
“We are moving from two outbreaks a week to three new outbreaks a week,” Kaseya said, adding that there is a shortage of vaccines on the continent.
Formerly known as monkey pox, mpox is an infectious disease caused by a virus transmitted to humans by infected animals, but it can also be transmitted from person to person through close physical contact.
The disease causes fever, muscle aches and large, ulcer-like skin lesions.
The World Health Organization announced on Wednesday that it is urgently convening an expert panel to advise on whether Africa's growing mpox epidemic should be declared an international emergency.
“The committee will meet as soon as possible and will consist of independent experts from a range of relevant fields from around the world,” WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said at a press conference.
The committee will advise him on whether the outbreak constitutes a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC), the highest alert the WHO can issue.
Only Tedros, as WHO Director-General, can declare a PHEIC based on the recommendations of an expert committee. The announcement then triggers emergency responses in countries around the world under legally binding international health regulations.
Mpox was first discovered in humans in 1970 in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
There are two subtypes of the virus: the more virulent and deadly Clade I, endemic to the Congo Basin in central Africa; and Clade II, endemic to West Africa.
In May 2022 mpox infections increased worldwide, mostly affecting gay and bisexual men, due to the Clade IIb background.
Deadlier and more transmissible than previous forms, the mpox strain on the rise in the DRC since September, known as the Clade Ib substratum, spreads from person to person.
The Clade Ib strain causes skin rashes all over the body, unlike other strains where lesions and rashes are usually limited to the mouth, face and genitalia.
