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The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared the African monkeypox (MPOx) outbreak a global emergency. AnnounceThe World Health Organization’s Emergency Committee held a meeting on August 14 and made the relevant decision.
What is known about the infection?
Monkeypox It is a disease caused by the monkeypox virus, which belongs to the genus Orthopoxvirus. There are two genetic clades of monkeypox viruses: type I and type II.
Typical symptoms include a rash or mucous membrane lesions that may last two to four weeks and include fever, headache, muscle and back pain, weakness and swollen lymph nodes.
People can get monkeypox through physical contact with an infected person, contaminated objects, or infected animals.
Monkeypox was first reported in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in 1970. The infection is endemic in Central and West Africa.
This is the second time in two years that the World Health Organization has declared monkeypox a public health emergency. The first global outbreak was reported in 2022-2023 and was caused by a strain called clade IIb. The current outbreak has infected up to 10% of the population Until Death These are called pathogenic clade Ib strains.
“The emergence of a new branch of monkeypox, its rapid spread in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo and its detection in neighbouring countries is of great concern. A coordinated international response is needed to stop this epidemic and save people,” said WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
In the past month, more than 100 laboratory-confirmed cases of clade 1b have been reported in four countries bordering the Democratic Republic of the Congo—Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, and Uganda—where monkeypox has never been found before. Experts believe the number is much higher.
According to the World Health Organization, the number of people infected with monkeypox this year has exceeded that of last year, reaching 15,600, of which 537 died.
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