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The announcement, which will unlock funds for vaccine access and continental response, comes on the eve of a meeting of the World Health Organization's Emergency Committee.
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African Centre for Disease Control and Prevention to The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC Africa) has declared a “public health emergency”, the highest level of alert, over the outbreak of monkeypox virus (Mpox), known as “monkeypox”, in several countries on the continent.
“Smallpox has now crossed borders, affecting thousands of people across our continent (…). It is with a heavy heart, but with an unwavering commitment to our people, our African compatriots, that I announce that we will declare smallpox a continental disease. A public health emergency,” the head of the Africa CDC, Jean Kassena, announced at a press conference.
“This announcement is not just a formality, it is a clear call to action. It is a recognition that we cannot continue to react. We must be proactive and aggressive in our efforts to contain and eradicate this scourge.”
What is it Mbox?
Smallpox, formerly known as “monkeypox,” is a viral disease that spreads from animals to humans, but is also transmitted through close physical contact with someone infected with the virus.
Since January 2022, 38,465 cases have been recorded in 16 African countries, with 1,456 deaths, including a 160% increase in cases in 2024 compared to the previous year, according to data published last week by the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The continent is facing the spread of a new strain discovered in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in September 2023 and named “Clade Ib”, which is more deadly and more transmissible than previous strains.
Clade Ib causes a rash all over the body, whereas previous strains were characterized by rashes and lesions in the mouth, face, or genitals.
Smallpox was first discovered in humans in 1970, in the present-day Republic of the Congo (formerly Zaire), with the Clade I subtype (of which the new variant is a mutation), which has since been confined mainly to western and central African countries, where patients are usually infected by infected animals.
In 2022, a global epidemic of Clade 2 subtype spread to a hundred countries where the disease was not endemic, mainly affecting gay and bisexual men.
The World Health Organization declared a high alert in July 2022 in response to this global outbreak, but lifted it less than a year later, in May 2023. The pandemic has killed about 140 people out of a total of 90,000 cases.
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