The African Union’s health watchdog has declared a public health emergency due to the escalating mpox outbreak across the continent. The declaration is described as a “clarion call for action” amid the spread of the virus, which was first identified in humans in the Democratic Republic of Congo in 1970.
As of August 4, CDC data reported 38,465 mpox cases and 1,456 deaths in Africa since January 2022. The announcement precedes a World Health Organization emergency committee meeting scheduled for today to decide on declaring a public health emergency of international concern.
“With a heavy heart but with an unyielding commitment to our people, to our African citizens, we declare mpox as public health emergency of continental security,” Jean Kaseya, head of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), said during an online media briefing.
“Mpox has now crossed borders, affecting thousands across our continent, families have been torn apart and the pain and suffering have touched every corner of our continent,” he said.
Boghuma Titanji, assistant professor in medicine at Emory University in the United States, said the CDC declaration was a “crucial step” towards enhancing coordination among African countries and encouraging them to allocate funds to combat the outbreak.
“While there has been substantial criticism of foreign donors for inadequate support, the over-reliance on external aid has highlighted a major flaw in the current response efforts,” Titanji said in a statement.
In May 2022, mpox infections surged worldwide, mostly affecting gay and bisexual men, due to the Clade IIb strain.
Renamed from monkeypox in 2022, mpox is an infectious disease caused by a virus transmitted to humans by infected animals but can also be passed from human to human through close physical contact.