For the second time in three years, the WHO has declared a smallpox epidemic, characterizing it as a global emergency.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared the rapid spread of monkeypox in African countries a global public health emergency. The New York Times writes about it.
In African countries, the situation has already reached global proportions. The outbreak has spread from Congo to neighboring countries, including Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda.
“The detection and rapid spread of a new class of mpox (monkey pox) in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, its detection in neighboring countries that have not previously reported mpox, and the possibility of further spread in Africa and beyond are of concern,” said the director-general. WHO Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
The WHO decision is intended to encourage member countries to start preparing for the spread of the virus and to share vaccines, treatments and other key resources with poorer countries.
For the second time in three years, the WHO has declared a smallpox epidemic, characterizing it as a global emergency. Previously, this happened in July 2022. Then the outbreak affected almost 100,000 people in 116 countries and killed about 200 people.
This time the threat is more dangerous. Since the beginning of 2024, more than 14 thousand cases of smallpox and 524 deaths have been registered in the Democratic Republic of Congo alone. The risk group includes women and children under 15 years of age. In addition, the smallpox outbreak has spread to 13 African countries, including several where cases of the disease have never been reported before.
Monkey pox is a viral zoonotic disease, the causative agent of which belongs to the orthopoxvirus genus of the Poxviridae family. According to rough estimates, from the 6th to the 20th century, the disease led to the death of at least 1 billion people. Characteristic symptoms of general intoxication: malaise, loss of appetite, subfebrile body temperature, etc. Against such a background, or without any precursors, rashes appear on the skin, which are often accompanied by an increase in body temperature.
Earlier, the head of the World Health Organization (WHO), Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, convened a meeting of international experts due to growing concern about the spread of mpox (monkey pox).
We will remind that the World Health Organization (WHO) has updated the list of the most dangerous viruses, bacteria and fungi that can trigger the next pandemic.
