2024-07-12 20:54:04
The World Health Organization (WHO) warned Thursday of the threat posed by mpox (formerly known as ‘monkeypox’), expressing concern about an outbreak of a new, more deadly strain in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
In this regard, the WHO said it had received reports of cases from 26 countries in the last month.
MPOX “remains a threat to global health,” agency director Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a news conference.
South Africa recently recorded 20 cases, three of them fatal, “the first cases in the country since 2022.”
None of the patients had travelled abroad, “suggesting that confirmed cases represent a small percentage of all cases and that community transmission is underway,” he stressed.
The situation in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where a new strain of the virus has been spreading since September, is particularly alarming.
The epidemic “shows no signs of slowing down,” Tedros added. A total of 11,000 cases have been recorded, 445 of which have been fatal, with children being the most affected.
In May 2022, mpox outbreaks began to be reported worldwide, outside the dozen countries in central and western Africa where the disease has long been endemic.
The WHO Director-General declared the epidemic a public health emergency of international concern in July of that year and ended the state of alert in May 2023, although he continues to recommend vigilance.
Since last September, a new, even more deadly strain has been spreading in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, called clade Ib and transmitted through sexual contact.
The disease is characterized by skin rashes that may appear on the genitals or in the mouth. It may cause fever, pain in the throat or lymph nodes.
It is transmitted through close contact with infected people or animals, as well as through objects contaminated by the patient such as clothing or bedding.
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© Agence France-Presse
