A MAJOR outbreak of a mutant mpox strain has been declared a public health emergency in Africa by health chiefs.
Scientists at the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) are sounding the alarm as this new virus spreads rapidly across the continent.
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Since the start of 2024, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has seen over 13,700 cases and 450 deaths.
The deadlier, more aggressive strain of the virus, formerly known as monkeypox, has now spread across Africa to 12 other countries including Burundi, the Central African Republic (CAR), Kenya, and Rwanda.
Labelling the outbreak as a public health emergency will push governments to act faster and potentially push vital medical supplies and aid for the affected regions.
Africa CDC head Jean Kaseya warned that the disease could spiral out of control if immediate steps were not taken to contain it.
“This declaration is not merely a formality. It is a clarion call to action. It is a recognition that we can no longer afford to be reactive.
“We must be proactive and aggressive in our efforts to contain and eliminate this threat,” he said.
Health chiefs outside Africa will also be keeping track of the situation to assess the risk of the outbreak spreading further.
Prof Marion Koopmans, from the Pandemic and Disaster Management Centre, that the risk of the virus coming to Europe is “small although it is possible”.
Experts have previously told the Sun the disease could easily spread via international travel.
Mpox is a viral infection that causes flu-like symptoms and pus-filled lesions.
And until a few years ago most cases of it were reported in central and west Africa.
But in 2022, the WHO declared a public health emergency, when a strain of mpox called clade 2 triggered the global outbreak that reached over 100 countries – including the UK.
The DRC has been battling with its variant, called “clade 1a” for decades.
This version is more deadly, with a fatality rate of around five per cent in adults and 10 per cent in children, compared to three per cent for its predecessor.
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In April, alarm bells were raised when scientists found a new easier-to-catch strain of mpox with “pandemic potential” in Kamituga, a small mining town in the DRC.
The new bug, dubbed “clade 1b” is behind a recent surge in cases in the east of the country.
Like clade 2, most new infections in the DRC appear to have been sexually transmitted.
But there have also been cases of the new bug spreading through touch alone in schools and workplaces.
The 13 countries hit by mpox outbreak
Burundi: 225 cases
Cameroon: 35 cases (2 deaths)
Central African Republic: 258 cases
Congo: 169 cases (1 death)
Cote d’Ivoire: 2 cases
Democratic Republic of Congo: 16 789 cases (511 deaths)
Ghana: 4 cases
Liberia: 5 cases
Kenya: 1 case
Nigeria: 24 cases
Rwanda: 2 cases
South Africa: 24 cases (3 deaths)
Uganda: 2 cases
Source: Fit to Travel
BUGS DON’T RECOGNISE BORDERS
Vaccines and treatments were previously used to combat the global outbreak, but they are not available in many countries, including Congo.
Earlier this month, authorities said it had reached the major city of Goma, which has an international airport that operates frequent direct flights to and from Europe.
“Pathogens don’t recognise borders,” Ben Oppenheim, a global health experts and senior director of US company Ginkgo Biosecurity, previously told the Sun.
“Goma is an important regional transit point, which heightens the risk of the virus spreading regionally and potentially globally – including to Europe and the UK,” he said.
Trudie Lang, professor of global health research at Oxford University, added: “It is quite possible people with the infection and who are infectious could get on a flight and transmit this elsewhere”.
I mistook monkeypox for Covid – I’ve never been in so much pain
A MAN who caught mpox in 2022 first believed he had Covid before experiencing agonising symptoms that made him fear for his life.
Harun Tulunay, a 35-year-old charity worker, experienced extreme symptoms which left him hospitalised for almost two weeks.
Harun, who lives in London, first started to display flu-like symptoms back in early June 2022, such as high fever, chills and muscle aches.
After having recently caught Covid he was “convinced” he had had the virus again, he told The Sun. “But every test I did came back negative.”
A few days later, the charity worker developed a red and white rash on his body that resembled an allergic reaction, which he said was “nothing like the monkeypox pictures you see online”.
It wasn’t until a few days later that he also noticed a painless spot on his nose which he assumed was a mosquito-like bite or pimple.
Harun works in sexual health so is well versed in monkeypox and its symptoms, but he had never seen his rash or spot associated with the disease and so didn’t think he could have it.
A few days later, Harun’s health took a turn for the worse as his fever reached 40C. “No amount of painkillers would ease the pain,” he said.
It was at this point that Harun developed swollen tonsils and a very sore throat.
“I couldn’t breathe, swallow or speak,” he said.
“I vividly remember calling up the hospital and crying in pain.”
Harun was finally referred to the hospital where he was put into isolation.
His test confirmed he had monkeypox, and only then did lesions often associated with monkeypox begin to appear on his hands, legs, and feet.
“My throat was covered,” he said, explaining that the lesion on his nose was bigger and had become infected.
“I was scared I would die alone in my hospital room,” he said. “I’d never been in so much pain in my life.”
“I remember looking at a water bottle and crying because I couldn’t drink it,” he added.
Harun has now made a full recovery.
