An outbreak of mpox has been declared a public health emergency in Africa by the continent’s top health body.

Scientists from the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) have expressed alarm at the speed by which a new strain of the disease has been spreading.

More than 15,000 mpox cases and 461 deaths have been reported on the continent this year – a 160% increase in cases compared with the same period in 2023, while deaths have jumped by around 19%.

Mpox, previously called monkeypox, has spread from the Democratic Republic of Congo to neighbouring countries. A total of 18 nations have reported cases.

The public health body said 96% of all cases and deaths were in DR Congo.

Officials at Africa CDC said nearly 70% of cases in the country are in children younger than 15, who also accounted for 85% of deaths.

Mpox causes flu-like symptoms and pus-filled lesions. Most cases are mild but it can be deadly.

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The disease spreads through close contact with infected people, including via sex, with the latest outbreak in the continent beginning with the spread of an endemic strain known as Clade 1.

However a new variant has emerged, known as Clade 1b, which appears to spread more easily through close contact, particularly among children.

Mpox is a viral disease that occurs mostly in central and western Africa. It was first identified in laboratory monkeys, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Common symptoms of mpox are a skin rash or pus-filled lesions which can last two to four weeks. It also can cause fever, headaches, muscle aches, back pain, low energy and swollen lymph nodes.

A human can contract it through physical contact with someone who is infectious or with infected animals.

Currently there is no treatment approved specifically for mpox virus infections, according to the CDC.

However, a two-dose vaccine has been developed to protect against the virus.

The CDC 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.

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”.

Jean Kaseya, head of Africa CDC, said on Tuesday: “We declare today this public health emergency of continental security to mobilise our institutions, our collective will, and our resources to act swiftly and decisively.”

Mr Kaseya said the continent needs more than 10 million vaccine doses but only about 200,000 are available.

“We have a clear plan to secure more than 10 million doses in Africa, starting with three million doses in 2024,” he added, without saying where the vaccines would be sourced.

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In a report published on Monday, the World Health Organization (WHO) listed nine countries in Africa where mpox cases had been detected in the past month.

They are DR Congo, Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda, Central Africa Republic, Ivory Coast, South Africa and Nigeria.

Mpox has been endemic in parts of Africa for decades after it was first detected in humans in DR Congo in 1970.

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A milder version of the virus spread to over 100 countries in 2022, largely through sexual contact, prompting the WHO to declare a public health emergency of international concern, its highest level of alert.

A total of 2,137 cases had been confirmed in the UK, with 2,050 in England a few days before the WHO declared the global health emergency on 23 July 2022.

There were no reported deaths in the UK during the entire outbreak.

The WHO ended the emergency 10 months later, saying the health crisis had come under control.

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