The health agency of the African Union declared “a public health emergency,” the highest level of alert, in the face of The possible epidemic of mpox or “monkeypox”which affects several countries on the continent, its director announced on Tuesday.
Mpox is a viral disease that spreads from animal to human through zoonosisOnce inside the human body, it is also transmitted by close physical contact with a person infected with the virus.
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“Mpox has already crossed borders, affecting thousands of people on our continent. We declare mpox as a continental public health emergency“African Union President Jean Kaseya told a news conference.
This announcement, which will facilitate the release of funds for access to vaccines and achieve a continental response, occurs before the meeting of the emergency committee of the World Health Organization (WHO) aimed at evaluating whether it is necessary to declare the highest level of alert at the international level for this disease.
So far, A total of 38,465 cases are estimated to have been recorded in 16 African countries since January 2022, and 1,456 deaths. A 160% increase in cases was recorded in 2024, compared to the previous year, according to data published last week by the African Union.
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The United States indicated on Tuesday that it maintains “close coordination” with the DRC, other countries affected by monkeypox and health organizations.
“We are following closely the spread of mpox in central africa“We are pleased to see international leadership in this area,” said State Department spokesman Vedant Patel.
The continent is facing the spread of a new strain of monkeypox, detected in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) in September 2023 and called “Clade Ib”, which is more deadly and transmissible than the previous ones.
(With information from AFP)
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2024-08-16 19:50:36