Mpox outbreak: new strain spreading quickly, doctors have little information

Is the world ready to face another pandemic, or is it just another precautionary call?

Such concerns are being raised after the World Health Organisation declared mpox or monkeypox as a Public Health Emergency of International Concern on 14th of August.

This is the second time in two years that the WHO sounded a global health emergency for mpox.

Just like last time, the viral infection is beginning to spread rapidly. From parts of Congo, it has now moved to Rwanda, Uganda, Burundi, Kenya, and now to Sweden and Pakistan.

Mpox has been a major health problem for some of the African countries since 1970s. But this is the first time that the infection has been reported outside the continent.

The current outbreak has been dubbed the worst as Congo has seen 27,000 cases and over 1,100 deaths since January 2023, largely among children.

The disease causes flu-like symptoms and pus-filled lesions. It is usually mild but can kill. Children, pregnant women and people with weakened immune systems, such as those with HIV, are all at higher risk of complications.

Two strains of mpox are now spreading in the country: the endemic form of the virus as well as a new offshoot.

This new form of the virus has triggered global concern because it is said to be spreading quickly and there is scarce information about it.

It is believed to be transmitting through sexual contact and other close contact, such as among children in displacement camps in parts of Congo.

This is precisely why the WHO has sounded a health emergency. Scientists are now hoping that the emergency declarations will speed up efforts to get more medical tools and funding to Congo to help tackle the outbreak.

The WHO’s similar efforts in 2022 to raise $34 million to fight mpox got no take-up from donors. Also, there was a huge inequity in who had access to vaccine doses.

Two years later, that remains the case, and the WHO seeks to change that.