Smallpox outbreak puts Africa on brink of official public health emergency
The head of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has said the agency is likely to declare a continental public health emergency over the growing mpox outbreak.
Africa CDC Director-General Dr Jean Kaseya said on Thursday that due to the increase in the number of mpox cases and its continued spread across borders, he had decided to initiate “active engagement” with African Union member states to prevent the outbreak from becoming “a new pandemic”.
“We are committed to mobilizing resources and providing technical assistance to affected countries to bring the outbreak under control,” Kaseya said.
A total of 887 new confirmed and suspected cases of mpox have been reported on the continent in the past week, bringing the total for the year to 15,132, according to data presented at the briefing. Cases are up 160% compared to the same period last year.
Sixteen countries have reported cases of the disease so far, including the Democratic Republic of Congo, where more than 90% of cases occur. This year, 461 people have died from the disease.
Some countries – Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda – have reported it for the first time, Kaseya said. “This new incident shows the need for a collective and collaborative approach to contain the spread of the disease,” he added.
Kaseya’s announcement came a day after World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said he would convene an emergency committee to determine whether the spread of mpox on the continent should be declared a global health emergency.
The process of declaring a continental public health emergency requires technical and strategic consultations between the Africa CDC, an agency of the 55-member African Union, and affected member states. An extraordinary summit of heads of state will follow to discuss a response.
Mpox is a viral disease that causes painful skin rashes and flu-like symptoms such as fever, headaches and body aches. The virus that causes it is from the same family as smallpox. It spreads from person to person and from animals to people through direct contact.
In May, scientists reported a new strain of the virus in the DRC that they said was more virulent and could spread more easily. Mpox was first identified in a human in 1970 in what is now the DRC, and was declared a global health emergency in 2022 when it spread to more than 70 countries.
While countries in the West have controlled the spread of the disease through vaccines, Kaseya cited their shortage in Africa as a major challenge in controlling its spread on the continent, saying only 200,000 doses were available compared to a demand of at least 10 million. He said Africa CDC was working with international partners to secure more vaccines.
Last week the AU an emergency approval has been made of $10.4 million (£8.2 million) to Africa CDC to support efforts to combat the mpox outbreak.