New variant in Africa: WHO announces high global alert level due to Mpox

New variant in Africa
WHO declares high global alert level due to Mpox

August 14, 2024, 7:31 pm

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WHO declares its highest alert level due to new variant of viral disease Mpox in Africa. It declares an “emergency of international concern”. It doesn’t make a tangible impact initially. However, global authorities must prepare for potential outbreaks.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has activated its highest alert level due to a new variant of the Mpox virus in Africa. It has declared a “Public Health Emergency of International Concern” (PHEIC). Therefore, WHO sees the risk of Mpox becoming a health risk in many countries after 2022 again. As WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in Geneva, the organization followed a recommendation by independent Mpox experts who met in a group called the Emergency Committee. A declaration of emergency does not initially have any concrete effects. Rather, it is intended to alert authorities around the world so they can prepare for potential outbreaks.

The WHO’s concern is, among others, related to a new virus variant discovered in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo at the end of 2023. It is a suborder of Mpox clade I (the Roman one) called Ib. It can be more infectious than previous variants and can cause more severe disease. Detailed studies on this are still pending. Clade I Mpox has been detected for the first time in recent weeks in Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi and Kenya.

The European Health Commission ECDC assessed the risk of the new variant spreading in Europe at the end of July as “very low”. According to the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), there are currently no cases of clade I in Germany. Mpox was formerly known as monkeypox because it was first accidentally discovered in monkeys. WHO decided on the new name to prevent discrimination against countries where the animals or pathogens were first discovered.

Smallpox vaccine works

This virus is related to the classic smallpox virus (variola virus). It mainly causes a skin rash, but also causes fever and is especially dangerous for children. The smallpox virus vaccine also protects against Mpox virus infection.

The CDC has reported more than 14,000 suspected cases and more than 500 deaths from the Democratic Republic of Congo and neighboring countries this year. Only a small fraction of it was detected in the laboratory. But he has already declared a state of emergency in Africa. This would allow countries to mobilize more resources to help control them. Fewer than 1,000 laboratory-confirmed cases worldwide are reported to WHO each month. However, he assumes that not all cases will be discovered due to lack of testing capacity.

WHO has already declared an emergency due to Mpox in July 2022. At the time there were cases in more than 60 countries, including Germany. Infections progressed to grade II, which results in less severe disease progression. The state of emergency was lifted in May 2023 as outbreaks were brought under control by vaccinations in most countries. However, in Africa and other countries in the Global South, there are problems with vaccine delivery.