Faced with a particularly virulent Mpox virus (formerly called monkeypox), the World Health Organization (WHO) triggered the highest level of health alert worldwide on August 14, 2024.
- WHO has declared the current Mpox outbreak a public health emergency of international concern.
- This is the highest alert level.
- The strain responsible for the outbreak, called clade 1b, is particularly virulent and contagious.
“The emergency committee met and advised me that in their opinion the situation constitutes a public health emergency of international concern. I have accepted that advice.”WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said at a news conference.
Mpox: a much more contagious and virulent strain
After triggering the highest level of global health alert, the WHO “commits, in the days and weeks ahead, to coordinating the global response, working closely with each of the affected countries and leveraging its presence on the ground”explained Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. The organization aims “to prevent transmission, treat infected people and save lives.” “This is a situation that should concern us all.”he stressed.
The African countries affected by this Mpox epidemic that started in the Democratic Republic of Congo are facing a more virulent and contagious strain of the Mpox virus. Called clade 1b, it has an estimated mortality rate of 3.6%.
The health agency Africa CDC reports 38,465 cases of the disease, formerly known as monkeypox, in 16 African countries since January 2022 and 1,456 deaths. It said it had recorded a 160% increase in cases in 2024 compared to the previous year.
Monkeypox: A virus transmitted by contact
This is not the first time that the WHO has declared a public health emergency of international concern for the Mpox virus. It had already taken such a decision in July 2022. The epidemic was then carried by the clade 2 subtype and had spread to around a hundred countries, including several in Europe. The alert was finally lifted in May 2023. Nearly 100,000 cases and 140 deaths had been recorded between 2022 and the end of 2023.
The Mpox virus, discovered in 1958, is transmitted through contact with an animal, a human being or contaminated materials. “Human-to-human transmission occurs through prolonged face-to-face contact by respiratory droplets or direct contact with an infected person, through bodily fluids, skin lesions of the disease or internal mucous membranes such as the mouth, as well as indirectly through objects that the sick person has contaminated, such as clothing or bed linen.”specifies the Ministry of Health.
The disease is characterized by a rash or lesions, accompanied by fever, headache, muscle aches, back pain, low energy, and swollen lymph nodes.