JUST IN— W.H.O. Declares Global Emergency Over New Mpox Outbreak. The threat this time is deadlier. Since the beginning of this year, the Democratic Republic of Congo alone has reported more than 14,000 mpox cases and 524 deaths. Those most at risk include women and children under 15. The outbreak has spread through 13 countries in Africa, including a few that had never reported mpox cases before.
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nytimes.com/2024/08/14/hea…
2) public health emergency of international concern— Also known as PHEIC, this is a status given by WHO to “extraordinary events” that pose a public health risk to other countries through the international spread of disease.
cnn.com/2024/08/14/hea…
3) The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention declared the outbreak a public health emergency of continental security the day before — the first such declaration by the agency since its inception in 2017.
4) Since the beginning of this year, more than 17,000 cases and more than 500 deaths have been reported in 13 countries in Africa, according to the Africa CDC, which classifies the outbreak as a “very high risk event.”
africacdc.org/download/afric…
5) Mpox, formerly known as monkeypox, is a viral disease that can spread easily between people and from infected animals. It can spread through close contact such as touching, kissing or sex, as well as through contaminated materials like sheets, clothing and needles, according to WHO. Symptoms include a fever, a painful rash, headache, muscle and back pain, low energy and enlarged lymph nodes. .who.int/news-room/fact…
6) That said, there are a lot of evidence accumulated that mpox could be airborne. Several studies do point to mpox being in the air—
thelancet.com/journals/lanmi…
7) Good reminder about N95.
8) #Mpox outbreaks are caused by different strains of viruses called clades.
The current outbreak in the Eastern #DRC is caused by a new offshoot of clade 1, called clade 1b, which causes more severe disease than clade 2. @DrTedros
@DrTedros 9) One of the most worrisome data points is that the new mpox is now affecting countries in which it has never had serious mpox outbreaks before. That always perks our ears up. It’s likely much more transmissible.
10) “We are now in a situation where (mpox) poses a risk to many more neighbors in and around central Africa,” said Salim Abdool Karim, a South African infectious diseases expert who chairs the Africa CDC emergency group. He noted that the new version of mpox spreading from Congo appears to have a death rate of about 3-4%.”
Officials at the Africa CDC said nearly 70% of cases in Congo are in children younger than 15, who also accounted for 85% of deaths.
apnews.com/article/cc9bdf…
@DrTedros 11) Good old Us CDC: “The risk to the general public in the United States from the type of mpox circulating in the DRC is very low.”
cdc.gov/poxvirus/mpox/…
@DrTedros 12) There are mpox vaccines, yes. But supplies very limited. Ramp up will take time. There’s also a related inferior smallpox vaccine against mpox too but we don’t wanna use thar.
Mpox vaccines likely months away even as WHO, Africa CDC discuss emergency reuters.com/business/healt…
@DrTedros 13 Sweden 🇸🇪 now reports the first ever case of Mpox clade one outside of Africa. There will likely be more. aftonbladet.se/nyheter/a/zAlb…
@DrTedros 14) There are people who try to deny any chance of monkeypox / mpox being possibly airborne. And then there are scientifically minded people like @PPEtoheros who bring the evidence.
@DrTedros @PPEtoheros 15) this is from the CDC requiring airborne precautions. Look what is listed 5th on the list between measles and SARS. Mpox (monkeypox) is prominently on this list.
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