Since mid-June, one of our teams has been supporting Uvira health zone in South Kivu, and assisting the medical management of severe cases through an isolation center at the Uvira General Referral Hospital, as well as monitoring simple and moderate cases on an outpatient basis and isolating suspected cases. Our teams are training medical staff on medical management and are also involved in infection control and raising awareness in communities. Over the last seven weeks in Uvira, MSF has treated more than 600 patients, including 217 serious cases. We are also providing hospitals with kits for treatment and for taking samples of the disease. In Minova, our teams set up an isolation center at the general reference hospital.
In Goma, North Kivu, we have launched surveillance and awareness-raising activities in camps for displaced people where we are present. We are strengthening the capacity of health structures to manage triage, isolation, and the treatment of patients presenting symptoms of mpox.
In the northwest of DRC, two other interventions have been launched: one in the Bikoro health zone in Equateur and the other in the Budjala health zone in South-Ubangi. This time, operations will be long-term, lasting several months. We also aim to train medical staff in medical and psychological care and step up epidemiological surveillance and infection prevention and control, including community awareness-raisingparticularly for people who are sometimes harder to reach, such as people with disabilities. In Budjala, more than 500 patients were treated with our support between mid-June and mid-July. In Equateur, we will be conducting operational research with the health authorities to better understand the dynamics of the virus and combat the disease.
Mpox has been declared a global emergency by the World Health Organization (WHO), with a new strain spreading across Africa at an alarming rate.
Officials announced last Wednesday that an outbreak of the strain in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) was now a "public health emergency of international concern".
It is the second time in three years that the WHO has designated an mpox epidemic as a global emergency.
It comes as the number of mpox cases reported so far this year has already exceeded last year's total, with more than 17,000 cases and 571 deaths according to the WHO.
But what is mpox, what are the symptoms, how is it treated, and what's being done about the outbreak?
The viral disease has occurred mostly in central and western Africa.
The most recent strain, first spotted in the DRC, has spread to neighbouring countries, including some that have never reported mpox cases before.
It was first identified in laboratory monkeys, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
It used to be known as monkeypox, but was renamed in 2022 by the WHO after receiving complaints that the original name was "racist and stigmatising".
Most cases are mild, but it can be deadly.
The disease spreads through close contact with infected people, including via sex and other skin-to-skin contact, with the latest outbreak in the continent beginning with the spread of an endemic strain known as Clade 1.
The new variant that has emerged, known as Clade 1b, appears to spread more easily through close contact, particularly among children.
Jean Claude Udahemuka, from the University of Rwanda, said last month that Clade 1b is "undoubtedly the most dangerous so far of all the known strains of mpox".
What are the symptoms?
Common symptoms of mpox are a skin rash or pus-filled lesions which can last two to four weeks.
The rashes can be located anywhere on the body and some people may only have one, while others can have hundreds or more.
These are other symptoms listed by the CDC:
The WHO says people may start to feel unwell before they get a rash or skin lesions, while for others the skin symptoms can be the first or only sign.
People with more severe mpox can suffer with the following symptoms, according to the WHO:
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New-born babies, children, people who are pregnant and people with underlying immune deficiencies may be at higher risk of more serious mpox disease and death, the WHO adds.
How is it treated?
Currently, there is no treatment approved specifically for mpox infections, according to the CDC.
It says that for most patients with mpox who have intact immune systems and don't have a skin disease, supportive care and pain control will help them recover without medical treatment.
People with severe mpox may require hospital treatment, supportive care and antiviral medicines to reduce the severity of lesions and shorten the time to recovery, the WHO says.
Many years of research on treatments for smallpox have led to the development of products that may also be useful for treating mpox, it adds.
It says an antiviral developed to treat smallpox called tecovirimat was approved by the European Medicines Agency for the treatment of mpox under exceptional circumstances in 2022. It also said its use for mpox has been limited so far.
However, a two-dose vaccine has been developed to protect against the virus, which is widely available in Western countries but not in Africa.
Scientists from the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) say they need more than 10 million vaccine doses but only 200,000 are available.
How did things get worse in Africa?
Mpox has been endemic in parts of Africa for decades after it was first detected in humans in DR Congo in 1970.
But the Clade 1b strain first emerged in September among sex workers in the DRC mining town of Kamituga, about 170 miles (273km) from the border with Rwanda.
Africa CDC has said 96% of all cases and deaths were in the DRC, but it has also spread to neighbouring countries, with 18 nations reporting cases of mpox.
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'It's an emergency for the entire globe'
The WHO declared an emergency as it thinks the strain is "potentially the outbreak that can become a pandemic," according to Dr Jean Kaseya, the director general of Africa Centres for Diseases Control and Prevention.
When making the announcement, the WHO's director-general Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said: "The emergence of a new clade of mpox, its rapid spread in eastern DRC, and the reporting of cases in several neighbouring countries are very worrying.
"On top of outbreaks of other mpox clades in DRC and other countries in Africa, it's clear that a coordinated international response is needed to stop these outbreaks and save lives."
The WHO's committee chair, Professor Dimie Ogoina, added: "The current upsurge of mpox in parts of Africa, along with the spread of a new sexually transmissible strain of the monkeypox virus, is an emergency, not only for Africa, but for the entire globe.
"Mpox, originating in Africa, was neglected there, and later caused a global outbreak in 2022. It is time to act decisively to prevent history from repeating itself."
The WHO says it is focusing on making the vaccines more widely available, particularly for lower-income countries.
A day after the global emergency was declared, Swedish officials confirmed the country had recorded its first case of the new mpox variant.
Are there cases in the UK - and have there been before?
There are currently no cases of the virus in the UK, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has said, and its deputy director Dr Meera Chand claims the risk "is currently considered low".
"However, planning is under way to prepare for any cases that we might see in the UK," she added.
"This includes ensuring that clinicians are aware and able to recognise cases promptly, that rapid testing is available, and that protocols are developed for the safe clinical care of people who have the infection and the prevention of onward transmission."
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Government officials have now met to "ensure sufficient plans are in place to deal with any potential cases," Downing Street said.
Professor Paul Hunter, an infectious diseases expert, told Sky News it was "very likely" someone in the UK already has the new variant of the viral disease.
However, he said it probably wouldn't be confirmed for a few weeks until people with symptoms visit a doctor and their samples are tested.
There have been cases in the UK before, with most seen in 2022 when there was a global outbreak of a milder strain which spread to more than 100 countries, prompting the WHO to declare a public health emergency of international concern on 23 July 2022.
A total of 2,137 cases had been confirmed in the UK at that stage, but by 31 December 2022 that number had soared to 3,732 cases - 3,553 were in England, 34 in Northern Ireland, 97 in Scotland and 48 in Wales.
Before the spring of 2022, UK cases were usually associated with travel to or from countries where mpox is endemic, particularly in western or central Africa.
But in May that year, there was a large outbreak in the UK, mostly in men who are gay, bisexual, or have sex with other men.
A vaccination programme was launched in the UK in the summer of 2022 and closed the following July.
There have been no reported deaths due to mpox in the UK.
Image used for representational purpose. | Photo Credit: Reuters
The Union Health Ministry on Monday (August 19, 2024) said the strain of monkeypox virus currently in circulation in the Democratic Republic of Congo and more than a dozen African countries is virulent and has a death rate of 3% as opposed to 0.1% from the less virulent strain.
As per our assessment the chances of its spread into India from Africa are moderate. We are also not putting in any country-wise alert as there is no cause for alarm as of now. Hospitals and doctors, however, have been alerted that any patient coming in with symptoms must be reported immediately. India is also looking at large scale testing provisions should the need arise, said a senior Health Ministry official on Monday, adding that there are no reported cases of monkeypox in India as of date.
He added that although the possibility of a few imported cases being detected in the coming weeks cannot be ruled out, it has been assessed that the risk of a large outbreak with sustained transmission is presently low for India.
Also read | WHO declares mpox outbreaks in Africa a global health emergency
The World Health Organization (WHO) declared monkeypox a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC) for the second time on August 14, warning that the viral disease could spread quickly to new countries. The announcement was made after an emergency committee of independent experts reviewed the rapidly rising number of infections in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and the spread of the disease to new African nations where it had previously never been recorded.
The number of infections is 160% higher than in 2023, and the virus has spread to six new countries in 10 days, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention had noted, earlier this month.
There are two subtypes of the virus the more virulent Clade 1, endemic in the Congo Basin in central Africa and Clade 2, endemic in West Africa.
Monkeypox infections are usually self-limiting, lasting between 2-4 weeks and patients generally recover with supportive management. The transmission requires prolonged close contact with an infected person and is generally through the sexual route, direct contact with body/lesion fluid, or the contaminated clothing/linen of an infected person.
WHO had earlier declared monkeypox as a PHEIC in July 2022 and subsequently revoked the same in May 2023. Globally, since 2022, WHO has reported 99,176 cases and 208 deaths due to monkeypox from 116 countries. Since the 2022 declaration by WHO, a total of 30 cases were detected in India, with the last case in March 2024.
Public health teams are learning more about the global mpox outbreak, which continues to gain momentum. As case counts rise locally and across the country its more important than ever that people understand how this virus is transmitted, what activities put people at risk and what to do if you think youre infected or have been exposed.
This situation continues to evolve, and the information below is based on the understanding of this outbreak at the time of this post's publication. Much like we did with COVID-19, well likely know much more in the weeks and months to come. But for now, heres what we think you should know about mpox and how you can stay safe.
Q: What is mpox?
A: Mpox began in animals and was transmitted to humans. Its transmitted through close contact with another mpox patient or from rodents carrying the disease. Its part of the same family as other poxviruses including smallpox (orthopoxviridae), and was first discovered in humans in 1970.
Q: What does mpox look like?
A: An mpox rash starts as red spots and progresses over time to pus-filled, blister-like lesions. They remain infectious until they eventually scab over and fall off, which can take up to a month. The lesions are generally all the same size and develop at the same rate. These painful pustules are usually but not always found on the face, hands, legs and feet. Sometimes this rash is found only in or on the genitals or anus, which means symptoms may be mistaken for a sexually transmitted infection or STI.
A person with mpox may feel like theyre coming down with a cold or flu days before their rash develops. They may also have swollen lymph nodes.
Q: How does mpox spread?
A: Mpox spreads through direct, prolonged skin-to-skin contact with lesions or the fluid inside them. Risk of exposure through skin increases with time and friction.
In addition, the virus can be spread by breathing in or directly contacting infected respiratory droplets or other body secretions, like saliva. Mpox has also been transmitted from surfaces that were contaminated with respiratory droplets or fluid from the lesions, but thats less likely to occur than infection from skin-to-skin contact.
Q: What activities are more likely to expose me to mpox?
A: Your risk escalates when your uncovered skin is in contact with an uncovered mpox lesion. That risk gets higher the more abrasion there is during the contact and the more time your skin touches the infected skin. Highest risk activities include sex, intimacy, and kissing. Other risky activities include living with someone who has mpox, sharing towels and sheets with an infected person, wrestling and attending raves, large concerts or circuit parties where lots of people are packed into close spaces.
Casual contact like public transportation, grocery shopping or touching door handles or gym equipment has a much lower, even negligible risk.
Q: How can I protect myself from mpox?
A: If you think youre going to be in a crowded space where your skin may be exposed to someone elses, wear more clothing and consider wearing a mask. If youre having sexual or intimate contact with multiple people or with anonymous partners, consider modifying your sexual behavior at least for now. Consider the risk of new or unknown partners and check your own skin and your partners skin for rashes or lesions. If youre eligible to get an mpox vaccine either because you are in a high-risk category or because youve been exposed you should strongly consider it. (Be aware that supplies and eligibility are limited for now.)
While youre unlikely to catch mpox from door handles or passing contact with someone whos infected, we recommend people continue to follow common-sense infection prevention measures, such as wearing masks, washing hands regularly and cleaning high-touch surfaces.
Q: How long does it take to become sick?
A: It can take anywhere from five to 21 days to become sick with mpox after an exposure. That long incubation period means we can give people treatments or vaccines early after an exposure to keep them from getting sick.
Once someone becomes infected, their illness lasts about two to four weeks.
Q: What should I do if Ive been exposed to mpox?
A: If you know youve had close contact with someone who has mpox, contact your healthcare provider or your local health department right away because you may be eligible to get a post-exposure vaccination. This is called post-exposure prophylaxis and may be help to keep you from getting infected.
These vaccines are limited so they are only reserved for people whove had high-risk exposure to someone with mpox.
Anyone who has had contact with mpox should plan to monitor symptoms for three weeks and get an mpox test if you begin to develop a rash or lesions.
Q: Can I get tested for mpox?
A: Mpox testing is widely available in the community and here at the University of Chicago Medicine. Unlike a COVID-19 test or a blood test, doctors can only test for mpox by scraping cells from a fluid-filled mpox lesion. Without a lesion or a rash, you wont be able to get a mpox test.
If you have a lesion, you should request an appointment with a primary care provider, community clinic, infectious diseases specialist, dermatologist or a sexual wellness clinic, since these providers will have the most familiarity with mpox cases.
At your appointment, your health care provider will examine your skin and ask questions about your exposure risk and your health history to determine if they think you may need an mpox test.
Q: How long will I need to isolate if I test positive for mpox?
A: One of the hardest things about mpox is that your isolation period is going to be especially long. It takes about four weeks for most peoples lesions to crust over and fall off. (You are considered infectious until this happens and fresh, healthy skin appears.) For some people, that may happen in two to three weeks, but for most people recovery takes about a month. This long isolation time means you may need to take short-term disability from work if youve been infected.
Q: Will I need medical care for mpox? How can I treat myself at home, and when do I need to see a doctor?
A: The good news is that most people will be able to stay at home and treat their symptoms with things like rest, fluids, calamine lotion and over-the-counter painkillers such as Tylenol or Advil.
But others may have more severe cases. In those situations, doctors can prescribe antiviral medications, such as cidofovir or tecovirimat, or may give someone immune globulin antibodies if they cant get other kinds of treatment. People who have lesions in their rectum or mouth, or who have swollen lymph nodes, may also need support for pain management. Youll also want to check with your doctor if you have lesions near your eye or if your lesions start to bruise or bleed. In those cases, you may need extra medical support.
Lastly, make sure you dont touch or scratch your lesions. That may spread them to other parts of your body, increases the time they take to heal and can make you prone to additional skin infections and leave you with more scarring.
Q: Are certain people more at risk for mpox?
A: Unlike previous outbreaks, most people currently being infected with confirmed cases of mpox are those who identify as gay or bisexual men. However, cases arent limited by sex or sexual orientation, and its inaccurate to assume mpox is only transmitted among those in the LBGTQ+ community. Theres a real risk of stigmatizing mpox infections if people take such a narrow view.
Q: Is mpox a sexually transmitted infection?
A: Mpox can be transmitted during sex, and about 95% of cases right now involve some sort of sexual or intimate contact. But its not categorized as a sexually transmitted infection since it can also be transmitted through other ways.
Q: Can I get vaccinated against mpox?
A:The two-dose series of mpox JYNNEOS vaccine is currently available to anyone who:
The vaccine is recommended for those who are or anticipate:
Q: What should I do if I live with someone who has mpox?
A: If someone in your house has mpox, have them isolate as much as possible and use their own bathroom (if thats an option). Wipe down high-touch surfaces regularly with a disinfectant labelled as killing viruses, wash your hands often with soap and water or use alcohol-based hand sanitizer and try not to touch their dishes, toothbrushes or drinking glasses. Both of you should wear masks if you need to be around each other, and they should cover their lesions as much as possible if they need to leave their isolation area. (This can be done by wearing long sleeves and pants, nitrile or latex gloves, and even using a Band-aid on a lesion thats on the face. They should follow these steps if they have to go to the doctor, too.)
When you live in close quarters with someone who has mpox, its also important to pay attention to how youre washing sheets, towels and clothing that may have come in contact with their skin lesions. This is because mpox viral particles can dry and stay on surfaces for up to 15 days. Dont shake out soiled linens or laundry instead, ball them up carefully and slowly while wearing a mask and gloves, then toss them directly in the washing machine. Use hot water and any soap or laundry detergent you have available. After the hot wash cycle, the laundry is no longer infectious.
Q: How dangerous is mpox?
A:This outbreak had initially involved whats known as the Western African clade (Clade II), which is less severe and has a fatality rate of about 1 percent. More recently, however, there has been an increased number of cases involving the Congo Basin clade (Clade I), which has a higher fatality rate. Many of those fatal cases have occurred in geographic areas where there arent many medical resources, which means people likely had worse outcomes than they would have in other regions of the world.
LONDON The World Health Organization has declared the ongoing outbreaks of mpox in Congo and elsewhere in Africa to be a global emergency, requiring urgent action to curb the virus transmission.
Sweden has since announced it had found the first case of a new form of mpox previously only seen in Africa in a traveler, while other European health authorities warned more imported cases were likely.
Heres a look at mpox and how likely it is to spread further:
D-FW Public Health Alerts
Get the latest public health updates.
That seems highly unlikely. Pandemics, including the most recent ones of swine flu and COVID-19, are typically sparked by airborne viruses that spread quickly, including by people who may not be showing symptoms.
Mpox, also known as monkeypox, is spread primarily through close skin-to-skin contact with infected people or their soiled clothes or bedsheets. It often causes visible skin lesions that could make people less likely to be in close contact with others.
To stay safe, experts advise avoiding close physical contact with someone who has lesions resembling mpox, not sharing their utensils, clothing or bedsheets and maintaining good hygiene like regular hand-washing.
On Friday, Europes Centre for Disease Prevention and Control said that more imported cases of mpox from Africa were highly likely, but the chances of local outbreaks in Europe were very low.
Scientists say the risk to the general population in countries without ongoing mpox outbreaks is low.
Mpox spreads very slowly unlike the coronavirus. Shortly after the coronavirus was identified in China, the number of cases jumped exponentially from several hundred to several thousand; in a single week in January, the case count increased more than tenfold.
By March 2020, when WHO described COVID-19 as a pandemic, there were more than 126,000 infections and 4,600 deaths about three months after the coronavirus was first identified.
In contrast, its taken since 2022 for mpox cases to hit nearly 100,000 infections globally, with about 200 deaths, according to WHO.
There are vaccines and treatments available for mpox unlike in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic.
We have what we need to stop mpox, said Dr. Chris Beyrer, director of Duke Universitys Global Health Institute. This is not the same situation we faced during COVID when there was no vaccine and no antivirals.
Its unclear. The 2022 mpox outbreak in more than 70 countries was slowed within months, thanks largely to vaccination programs and drugs being made available to at-risk populations in rich countries.
At the moment, the majority of mpox cases are in Africa and 96% of those cases and deaths are in Congo, one of the worlds poorest countries whose health system has mostly collapsed from the strain of malnutrition, cholera and measles. Although Congolese officials requested 4 million vaccines from donors, it has yet to receive any.
Despite WHO declaring mpox a global emergency in 2022, Africa got barely any vaccines or treatments.
Beyrer of Duke University said it was in the worlds interest to invest now in squashing the outbreaks in Africa.
We are actually in a good place to get control of this pandemic, but we have to make the decision to prioritize Africa, he said.
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On 14 August 2024, the Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO) determined that the resurgence of Mpox in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and a growing number of countries in Africa constitutes a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC). Temporary recommendations are being developed with input from the International Health Regulations Emergency Committee and will be available in the coming days.
The emergence and rapid spread of a new virus strain in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, clade Ib, which appears to spread mainly through sexual networks, and its detection in neighboring countries of the Democratic Republic of the Congo are one of the main reasons for the declaration of PHEIC.
This Epidemiological Update provides a summary of the situation in the Americas based on cases reported to the Pan American Health Organization / World Health Organization (PAHO / WHO) and published on the official websites of the Ministries and Health Agencies of the Americas.
The World Health Organization declared the spread of mpox a global health emergency last week.
Tumeggy/science Photo Library | Science Photo Library | Getty Images
Countries in Asia are closely monitoring for mpox cases after the World Health Organization recently declared an escalating outbreak in Africa as a global public health emergency.
Mpox, formerly known as monkeypox, is classified into two distinct groups: clade 1 and clade 2. It is transmissible through direct contact with an infected person, animal or contaminated items.
Clade 2 was responsible for the 2022 outbreak, which has led toaround 100,000 cases worldwide, NBC News reported, but now, a version of clade 1 has spread internationally, after starting in the Democratic Republic of Congo in January 2023.
In making the declaration, WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said "it's clear that a coordinated international response is needed to stop these outbreaks and save lives."
On Thursday, Sweden reported the first known case of clade 1 outside Africa. Then on Monday, the Philippines reported its first case of mpox since December of last year, although it has not yet identified the strain.
Here's how the four largest economies in Asia have responded so far:
China's customs authorities announced they will strengthen surveillance at ports of entry.
People arriving from nations and areas with confirmed mpox cases and have been exposed to mpox with symptoms such as fever, headache, backpain or rashes must declare their condition to customs, the General Administration of Customs said.
Aircraft and vessels carrying containers, as well as cargo, arriving from nations and areas with mpox cases will also be sanitized, reported local news.
These measures went into effect Thursday, and will be enforced for the next six months.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been continuously monitoring the mpox outbreak, the country's Ministry of Health and Family Welfare said in a statement.
The last case of mpox was detected in March, and as of Sunday, there are no reported cases in the country, according to officials.
In the past week, a meeting of health experts was held by India's National Center of Disease Control to assess the risk, officials said. And health teams at international airports have also been made aware of the situation.
Health authorities have also announced that they will enhance surveillance in an effort to promptly detect potential cases, as well as improve laboratory testing capabilities for early diagnosis, officials added, though they did not include any further details in the statement.
Health-care providers, such as hospitals and clinics, have also been tasked with increasing awareness of the virus.
Officials in Japan met on Friday to discuss potential actions and review strategies, local news reported, and agreed to gather data from countries where outbreaks have been confirmed.
Authorities plan to raise awareness of mpox and its spread among travelers entering and leaving the country, The Japan Times reported. It's unclear if the country will enforce any additional measures.
Meanwhile, the country's health minister, Keizo Takemi,recently said at a press conference that Tokyo is gearing up to send Japan-made vaccines made to the Congo, in response to a request, the outlet added.
The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency has said that while the mpox situation remains "manageable" under existing measures, it will still bolster quarantine and surveillance efforts, according to local news.
The KDCA issued the remarks on Friday after holding a meeting with medical experts to discuss risk of an outbreak.
During the meeting officials decided to enforce quarantine measures for those on direct flights from countries with "epidemiological investigators and public health doctors deployed on-site," and decided not to reissue a crisis alert that was lifted May of last year, The Korea Times reported.
Korea is also planning to boost awareness campaigns to urge those with symptoms to go to a doctor immediately, it added.
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The World Health Organisation (WHO) on August 14, 2024, declared the mpox outbreak as a global health emergency
The mpox or monkeypox outbreak has affected over 115 countries, and is the worst in the Democratic Republic of Congo and neighbouring countries.
The outbreak first started in 2022. The WHO decided to change the name of monkeypox to mpox in November of that year following racist insinuations towards some communities
Accordingto data collected from national authorities, 99,176 cases of mpox were confirmed between January 1, 2022 and June 30, 2024, and 208 people died.
What is this virus?
The monkeypox virus is an orthopoxvirus, which is a genus of viruses that also includes the variola virus, which causes smallpox.
Monkeypox is a zoonosis, a disease that is transmitted from infected animals to humans.
According to the WHO, cases occur close to tropical rainforests inhabited by animals that carry the virus. Monkeypox virus infection has been detected in squirrels, Gambian poached rats, dormice, and some species of monkeys.
Human-to-human transmission of the virus is, however, limited. It can be through contact with bodily fluids, lesions on the skin, the respiratory tract or through the eyes, nose or mouth or by virus-contaminated objects, such as bedding and clothing.
According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention or CDC, the infection was first discovered in 1958. Two outbreaks of a pox-like disease were recorded in colonies of monkeys kept for research which led to the name monkeypox.
