Mpox a global emergency: WHO; Hyderabad on high alert
The latest global health emergency is here. The World Health Organisation (WHO) on August 14 declared the viral disease of mpox, formerly called monkeypox, a “public health emergency of international concern” (PHEIC).
This is the second time in three years (after July 2022) that WHO has declared mpox a global emergency and this time the situation is being considered as more dangerous, mainly due to the emergence of a new clade (called clade I) and its rapid spread.
The last time mpox became an epidemic, it affected nearly a lakh people, primarily gay and bisexual men, in 116 countries, and killed about 200 of them.
This time, more than 17,500 presumed and confirmed cases have been detected in 13 countries, with DRC alone accounting for 15,600 of them, including 587 deaths.
Most of the deaths have been in children, who in this region of Africa are already beset by malnutrition and infectious diseases like cholera, measles and polio.
From DRC, the disease has spread to several countries in central, eastern and western Africa, and the number is growing.
On Thursday, a day after WHO declared mpox a global emergency, Sweden registered a case, the first country outside Africa to do so. The person was infected during a visit to “the part of Africa where there is a major outbreak of Mpox clade I”, state epidemiologist Magnus Gisslen said in a statement.
Hyderabad is reportedly on high alert, it being a well-known destination for students from Africa.
Neighbouring Pakistan reported three cases on Friday, from northern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. The province’s health department confirmed this, according to news agency Reuters.
Mpox spreads mainly through consumption of contaminated meat or close contact with infected animals and people (including sexual contact).
The systems of an mpox infection include fever, respiratory symptoms, muscle aches, swollen lymph nodes and a rash on the hands, feet, chest, mouth or genitals.
DR Congo has approved two mpox vaccines—LC16, a Japanese product and Jynneos, made by Bavarian Nordic that was successfully used in 2022 in USA and Europe.
