The Mpox epidemic continues to represent a public health emergency, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared on Friday, Reuters and AFP report.
The Mpox epidemic continues to represent a public health emergency/PHOTO: Shutterstock
“This decision was taken in light of the growing number of cases and their continued geographical spread, operational challenges on the ground and the need to implement and maintain a coherent response across countries and partners“, WHO sent in a statement, according to Agerpres.
In August, the WHO declared for the first time a public health emergency due to mpox, also known as monkey pox. The state of emergency was declared after a new form of the disease spread in the hard-hit Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to neighboring countries.
Mumps is a viral infection that spreads through close contact and usually causes flu-like symptoms and sores with pus. The virus was discovered in 1958, in Denmark, in a colony of monkeys. The animals became infected when tests were performed on them in the laboratory.
It is hypothesized that rodents or small mammals such as squirrels could harbor this virus.
It is usually a mild disease, but can be fatal in some cases. This year, more than 46,000 suspected cases of mpox have been reported across Africa, mainly in the DRC, as well as more than 1,000 associated deaths.
On November 19, the WHO approved a vaccine against the disease manufactured by the Japanese pharmaceutical company KM Biologics. It is the second approved by the organization so far.
“The entry on the WHO emergency list of the LC16m8 vaccine against mpox marks an important stage in our response to the current emergency situation, offering a new option to protect all populations, including children”Yukiko Nakatani, WHO’s deputy director-general for access to medicines, said in a statement.
