Aanchal Mishra
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Written By: Aanchal Mishra | Updated : September 2, 2024 8:00 PM IST
Mpox virus can lead to other health complications too including pneumonia. (Photo: Freepik)
Mpox Virus Outbreak: Academic journal Science has warned against the spread of mpox virus across the African countries. First reported in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), mpox virus spread to Uganda and Kenya and is now afraid to outspread across the continent.
Soon after, the World health Organization also expressed the growing distress around the suspected mpox virus outbreak. WHO is likely to declare an international health emergency. The director general of WHO, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a post on X, that he is considering forming an International Health Regulations Emergency Committee to decide if declaring a global health emergency is needed amid the escalating tensions.
The WHO director-general said in the same post that efforts are being made to scale up the prevention of mpox virus transmission in collaboration with Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, the health agency of African Union. He also underscored the lack of funding to bring in all measures to prevent mpox virus transmission. Although The Permanent Representatives Committee of the African Union (AU) has released $10.4 million from the existing COVID funds for the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention.
DRC has a history of Mpox outbreak, with the government declaring a national emergency in 2022 too. Mpox virus or the monkeypox virus is a viral infection that can cause skin rashes, headaches, fever along with other symptoms. It is a contagious disease that can spread between animals and humans. Being a communicable disease, mpox virus can infect a person after contacting an infected human, lasting from 2 to 4 weeks. Avoiding contact with mpox virus infected humans and vaccinations are the two major prevention and management strategies.
According to the World Health Organization, mpox virus can lead to other health complications too including pneumonia, vomiting, difficulty swallowing, corneal infection with loss of vision and more. It can also result in inflammation of the brain, heart and rectum. People with HIV and weak immune systems are at higher risk of developing more complexities due to the mpox virus.
Since the beginning of this year around 14,250 cases have been confirmed across South Africa with more than 450 deaths. DRC accounts for over 96 per cent of the mpox virus cases.
