Africa mpox resurgence fuels alarm

ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast — Two years after a global outbreak, fears are rife that a new strain of mpox -- previously known as monkeypox -- identified in DR Congo and now also in several neighbouring countries could further spread.

Deadlier and more transmissible than previous forms, the mpox strain surging in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) since September, known as the Clade Ib subclade, is spread person-to-person.

World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on Wednesday called an "emergency" meeting of international experts amidst growing worries over the  virus, saying the WHO emergency committee would meet "as soon as possible" to advise him on "whether the outbreak represents a public health emergency of international concern".

A public health emergency of international concern is the highest alarm the WHO can sound and the body had said Sunday it was considering convening an expert committee to advise it as it did during the global mpox outbreak in 2022.

The Clade Ib strain causes skin rashes across the whole body, unlike other strains where lesions and rashes are usually limited to the mouth, face and genitals.

The African Union health agency, Africa CDC, registered 14,479 confirmed and suspected cases of the strain and 455 deaths in DRC as of August 3, representing a mortality rate of around three percent.

But researchers in the vast Central African nation say the mortality rate from the strain can be as much as 10 percent among children.

The Congolese government acknowledged last month an "exponential increase" in cases.

"The disease has been seen in the displacement camps around Goma in North Kivu where the extreme population density makes the situation very critical," Louis Albert Massing, medical coordinator for Doctors Without Borders in DRC said.

"The risks of explosion are real given the enormous population movements" in the conflict-ridden region, which borders several countries, he added.

Already, the Clade Ib strain has jumped national borders -- in the last two weeks, cases have been reported in Uganda, Burundi, Rwanda and Kenya, Rosamund Lewis, the WHO's technical lead for mpox, told AFP.

'Raging' 

Authorities in the four countries have confirmed mpox cases -- Burundi in particular has reported 127 cases -- without specifying the strain.

The eight-member East African Community (EAC) has urged governments to educate their citizens on how to protect themselves and prevent the spread of the disease.

Lewis, from the WHO, said it was the first time that the four countries lying to the east of DRC had reported mpox cases.

"Rwanda, Burundi, Uganda are countries that don't have this disease in an endemic way... that means it's an extension of the outbreak which is raging in the DRC and in Central Africa generally," she said.

Africa CDC has also reported 35 suspected and confirmed cases, including two deaths, in Cameroon, 146 cases, including one death, in Congo Brazzaville, 227 cases in the Central African Republic, 24 in Nigeria, five in Liberia and four cases in Ghana.

In West Africa, Ivory Coast recently reported six confirmed non-fatal cases, five of which were in the economic capital Abidjan, without specifying the strain.

Detection capacity 

Mpox was first discovered in humans in 1970 in the DRC, then called Zaire.

It has since been mainly limited to certain West and Central African nations. Humans mainly catch it from infected animals, such as when eating bushmeat.

In May 2022, mpox infections surged worldwide, mostly affecting gay and bisexual men.

That spike was driven by a new subtype, dubbed Clade II, which took over from Clade I.

Around 140 people died out of about 90,000 cases across 111 countries.

The outbreak is "still raging", Lewis said, including in South Africa, which has seen 24 cases, three of which were fatal, but she added it was "controlled" and spreading less.

Mpox remains a global health threat, WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warned in early July.

Countries are now able to detect cases, Lewis said, pointing to a system of surveillance, laboratories and communication with affected areas.

It is hard to know if there has been "a substantial rise" in cases, or whether "it's just a matter of increased awareness", said Maria Van Kerkhove, the WHO's epidemic and pandemic preparedness and prevention director, who confirmed concern over the Clade Ib strain.

"There are some vaccines that are licensed that can be used for mpox," she said.

Negotiations between the WHO and affected countries are under way to authorise the use of one, Lewis said.