While Mpox has been known for decades, a newer, more lethal and more transmissible strain, clade 1b, causes death in about 3.6 percent of cases.
Monkeypox virus: The death toll in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has exceeded 570, due to the highly contagious Mpox disease, declared a global health emergency by the World Health Organization. According to the health minister, the Central African country is still waiting for vaccines from the United States and Japan. The number of cases since the beginning of this year has risen in just a few days from 16,000 and 548 deaths to 16,700 cases and “just over 570” deaths, Health Minister Samuel-Roger Kamba said at a press conference.
“We are talking about a continental emergency,” Kamba told a news conference, as the WHO has called on affected countries to step up vaccination programmes to counter a more deadly strain of Mpox. In addition to Congo, outbreaks have also been reported in Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda since July. Outside Africa, new cases of the Clade-1 strain have also been detected in Sweden and Pakistan.
While Mpox has been known for decades, a new, more lethal and more transmissible strain, clade 1b, causes death in about 3.6 percent of cases, with children most at risk, according to WHO. Kamba said Mpox is reaching “more and more young people” in the Democratic Republic of Congo and that many children under 15 have been affected.
The United States has promised vaccines
According to AFP, the United States has pledged 50,000 vaccine doses for the Democratic Republic of Congo, while Japan pledged earlier this week to send 3.5 million doses for children. “I hope that next week we will see the vaccines arrive,” Kamba told the conference.
“The vaccine is a solution to our problems,” he added, urging the population to get vaccinated. “Our strategic vaccination plan is ready. We are just waiting for the vaccines to arrive.”
Currently, two vaccines are used for Mpox: JYNNEOS and ACAM2000, which have been recommended by WHO experts and approved by health authorities in several countries. JYNNEOS, manufactured as the MVA-BN (modified Vaccinia Ankara-Bavarian Nordic) vaccine, is also marketed under other names such as Imvamune and Imvanex. It is approved by the US Food and Drug Administration and the European Medicines Agency.
The vaccine, used for subcutaneous administration, has an attenuated pathogen that replicates in the body, which makes it weaker and does not cause a full-blown disease.
Can Mpox cause a global pandemic??
Experts believe it is highly unlikely that Mpox could trigger a global pandemic like COVID-19 or swine flu. Doctors say both are typically caused by airborne viruses that spread rapidly, even to people who may not have symptoms.
However, Mpox is mainly transmitted through direct contact with the skin of infected people or with their dirty clothing. It often causes visible skin lesions that may make people less likely to be in close contact with others.
To protect yourself from infection, doctors recommend avoiding close physical contact with anyone who has Mpox-like lesions, not sharing utensils, clothing or bedding, and maintaining good hygiene, such as washing your hands regularly.
Last week, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control said it was “very likely” that more imported cases of Mpox would occur from Africa, but that the chances of local outbreaks in Europe were very low. Scientists say the risk to the general population in countries without ongoing Mpox outbreaks is low. While Mpox is generally a self-limiting disease, it causes many other potentially life-threatening complications.
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