The alert is still in force due to the increase in cases in Africa. More than 2,000 cases were detected in four countries of the continent.
The World Health Organization (WHO) He announced on Thursday that he maintains the international health emergency for the MPOX (sympathy) due to the increase in cases and areas in which they have declared, including conflict zones such as the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo (RDC).
WHO maintains international emergency by MPOX
WHO general director, Tedros adhanom ghebreyesus, He announced this decision two days after the Emergency Committee for the disease, which meets every three months, analyzed the situation and recommend taking this measure to the head of the health agency.
The Committee also reviewed the temporary recommendations to deal with the outbreaks of this disease. They include Establish national and local emergency centers, intensify the monitoring of cases and contacts with them and develop vaccination plans, without proposing for the moment travel restrictions.
Monkey smallpox
The emergency was declared on August 14, 2024, given the increase in cases especially in the RDC, where some areas with outbreaks are difficult to access for health services due to the conflict, in provinces such as North Kivu and Kivu del Sur.
What happens today with the emergency by Mpox
The current International Health Agency alert for the MPOX responds to the rapid Expansion in Africa of a new variant (CLADO IB). It differs from the one that caused another outbreak in Africa in 2022 and thousands of cases in Europe, North America and countries in other regions.
More than 2,100 confirmed cases of this IB variant in the RDC (compared to 13,000 last year), 1,500 in Ugandaabout 500 in Burundi20 in Rwanda and nine in Kenyaaccording to WHO statistics.
Only eleven of these cases were mortal, all of them in Uganda, While last year 55 deaths were recorded in affected African countries. The less lethal variant of 2022 has already taken the WHO to a first declaration of the international health emergency, which raised the following year.
Source: Ambito
