Mpox no longer international health emergency but remains concern in Africa

The World Health Organization (WHO) chief has declared that mpox is no longer a global health emergency after experts discovered a decrease in the deadly disease in hot areas of Africa.

According to Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, there have since been “sustained declines in cases” in Burundi, Sierra Leone, and Uganda.

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The MPOX Emergency Committee convened yesterday to inform me that the circumstance no longer qualifies as an international health emergency. The WHO director-general posted on X, “I have accepted that advice.”

He continued, noting that the emergency situation in Africa remained a continental emergency. “Of course, lifting the emergency declaration does not mean the threat is over.

The #mpox Emergency Committee convened yesterday to inform me that the circumstance no longer qualifies as an international health emergency. That advice is now my responsibility.

The emergency declaration is not a guarantee that our response will be stopped or that the threat is gone. pic. twitter.com/m5BI0rzQZB

After a consultative group discovered new spikes in many African nations, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) announced on Thursday that mpox still constitutes a continental public health emergency.

The Africa CDC stated in a statement that the consultative group’s analysis of the mpox situation revealed increases in the prevalence of the disease in Ghana, Liberia, Kenya, Zambia, and Tanzania, even though weekly confirmed cases decreased by 52%.

Additionally, it added, new cases of the virus have been reported in Malawi, Ethiopia, Senegal, Togo, Gambia, and Mozambique.

“We must maintain the urgency,” he said.

In August of last year, a new strain of mpox started to spread from the DRC to neighboring nations, prompting the WHO to declare it a public health emergency of global concern (PHEIC) (PHEIC) at its highest level of alert).

Close contact is a possible way for Mpox to spread. It is typically mild, but in some cases, it can be fatal. It results in pus-filled lesions on the body and symptoms similar to the flu.

People with weakened immune systems, such as those who have HIV, are all higher risk of complications, including children and pregnant women.

Despite still posing a health risk, the WHO made the decision to downgrade its PHEIC status based on recommendations from its Emergency Committee, which meets every three months to assess the outbreak.

The urgency must be maintained, according to Dimie Ogoina of the Emergency Committee.

He continued, “This is not the time to reduce the investments in terms of financial investment, partnership, and solidarity, especially for the most perilous African countries.”

Out of the cases that were examined, Ogoina reported that there were alarming deaths among those living with HIV/AIDS, particularly in Uganda and Sierra Leone, and that there were signs of vulnerability among children and infants in the DRC.