Roger Kamba, the Health Minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), has announced that the ongoing Mpox outbreak is now classified as a ‘continental emergency’.
This declaration highlights the escalating crisis as the disease continues to spread across the African continent.
As of Monday, the DRC has reported 16,700 cases of Mpox, both confirmed and suspected, marking a notable increase from the previous week’s figures of 15,664 cases.
The outbreak has also resulted in over 570 deaths, up from 548.
The alarming rise in cases and fatalities underscores the severity of the situation.
The DRC initially declared a national outbreak of Mpox in December 2022.
Since February 2023, the country has implemented an incident management system to tackle the surge in cases.
Kamba noted that the disease is particularly affecting younger populations, including children under 15, a new and troubling trend in this outbreak.
Kamba emphasized that while vaccines are an important part of the solution, adherence to preventive measures remains crucial. He stressed the need to remember that vaccines alone are not sufficient and that following other preventive strategies is essential to effectively combat the outbreak.
The DRC is likely to receive a shipment of Mpox vaccines next week to bolster its response efforts.
Despite these measures, the minister acknowledged that the government’s interventions have managed to prevent an even larger scale of outbreak within the country.
WHO Raises Mpox Alert To Global Health Emergency
The World Health Organization (WHO) recently escalated the global alert status for Mpox, declaring it a public health emergency of international concern.
This follows an initial announcement made on 23 July 2022.
The Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has also labeled the outbreak a continental emergency due to the sharp rise in cases.
According to the African Union’s health agency, the number of new Mpox cases reported in 2024 has surged by 160 percent compared to the same period in 2023.
The WHO has highlighted the emergence of a more virulent strain, Clade 1b, which has a mortality rate of 3.6 percent, significantly higher than previous variants.
This new variant is exacerbating the outbreak’s impact, raising concerns about its potential for further global transmission.
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