M-pox, which has also been called monkeypox or mpox, is spreading in Central African countries. The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DR Congo) is particularly hard hit. – They already have quite big challenges in terms of health. This comes on top of a humanitarian crisis that has already been forgotten, says Secretary General Lindis Hurum of Doctors Without Borders. She currently works in several refugee camps in and around the million-strong city of Goma, in the east of the country. Violent fighting has driven up to one million people to these camps, says Hurum. Health workers from Doctors Without Borders inform the population of Goma about the smallpox virus disease. Photo: MSF On Wednesday, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared smallpox an international public health crisis. According to the WHO, there have been around 14,000 reported cases so far this year, and over 500 deaths. Although m-pox is most widespread in the DR Congo, it has also spread to several of the neighboring countries. African infection control authorities (Africa CDC) have registered 38,000 cases and there are approximately 1,500 deaths as of 4 August, NTB wrote on Tuesday. The epidemic affects as many as 23 out of 26 provinces in the Congo. In addition, cases have been registered in several of the neighboring countries, according to the WHO. What are m-cups? Smallpox is a zoonosis. This means that it can be transmitted from animals to humans. Now, however, the virus has mutated to also infect people. The disease is characterized by a rash and fever, and is usually self-limiting. In some cases, a more serious illness is seen, and in rare cases death. There are two variants of the virus: type I (Central African variant) and type II (West African variant). Type II has had a lower mortality rate than subtype I. It is type I that is now ravaging the Congo. Since 2023, there has been a large outbreak of type I smallpox in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where the virus spreads both through sexual contact and other close contact. Previous smallpox vaccination has been shown to provide protection against smallpox. The increasing incidence has, among other things, been linked to the fact that an increasingly large proportion of the population has not been vaccinated against smallpox. Source: Institute of Public Health More contagious and higher mortality The virus has been detected in the Congo for over ten years. This was said by the head of the WHO, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, during a press conference on Wednesday evening. – Last year, the number of cases increased significantly. And already this year, the number of reported cases has exceeded last year’s total, he said. PUBLIC HEALTH CRISIS: WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus held a press conference on Wednesday to inform about the ongoing outbreak of smallpox. Photo: WHO The M smallpox virus that is now spreading in Central Africa is the variant type I. It is referred to as more deadly than type II, which is most widespread in West Africa. – The new variant of m-pox may have a different degree of infectivity and severity compared to those that circulated previously, according to Léa Franconeri, epidemiologist and senior adviser in public health and climate disasters at the Red Cross. The country is already in a critical humanitarian situation, and the ongoing unrest has affected the healthcare system, says Franconeri. The Red Cross does not have a team in DR Congo, but Franconeri says they are supporting several Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies in neighboring countries by helping with disease surveillance to detect signals in local communities. The Secretary General of Médecins Sans Frontières, Lindis Hurum, is at work in Goma in the Congo. Photo: Emma-Marie B. Whittaker / news The next few weeks and months will show whether it is possible to get the spread under control. – Limiting infection in a refugee camp, where people live very close together in very precarious conditions, I would say is almost impossible. So then we must try to treat those who become ill and isolate those who become seriously ill, says Hurum. The stigma of a sexually transmitted disease For a long time, smallpox was transmitted through sexual contact. Now more people get the virus through droplet transmission, touching infected skin, through clothing and from surfaces that infected people have been in contact with. Nevertheless, the virus carries the stigma of a disease that is transmitted through sexual intercourse, says Marietta Nagtzaam, who is head of Doctors Without Borders where the outbreak first started. The Bulengo refugee camp on the outskirts of the million-strong city of Goma. Photo: AFP – It is common to be infected by one’s own family. Among other things, because it is common to share meals where they use their hands to eat the food. According to Nagtzaam, there is no difference between the infection rate of men and women. More than half of those infected are between the ages of 15 and 45. Health workers from Doctors Without Borders inform the population of Goma about the smallpox virus disease. Photo: MSF A large number of those infected are sex workers. Nagtzaam says the number is probably higher, but that there is a lot of stigma. This group consists mainly of women. Children, pregnant women and people with weakened immune systems are particularly vulnerable. The virus can lead to malnutrition, blindness, infections and dehydration from vomiting and diarrhoea. Spread in several countries Spain has the highest number of cases of the outbreak in Europe, according to the European Infection Control Agency (ECDC), the country had reported 54 cases of the virus in the last four weeks. It is most likely type II that has been reported in the country. Sweden had its first confirmed case of type I infection on Thursday. According to Franconeri, it is the first time ECDC has registered the type I variant in Europe. Léa Franconeri, epidemiologist and senior adviser in public health and climate disasters at the Red Cross. Photo: Red Cross The country’s governing authorities have previously stated that they expect individual cases of the disease to appear. The WHO warned that the disease will probably spread to several countries. ECDC now raises the risk level for the virus from low to moderate. On Friday, Pakistan confirmed its first case. China will introduce stricter controls on arrivals from affected areas. Published 16.08.2024, at 17.45
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