The mpox emergency could spread beyond central Africa without a global effort to contain the current outbreak, a leading scientist warned on Thursday.
It comes after the World Health Organisation (WHO) declared the spread of the disease a global public health emergency on Thursday following an outbreak in Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) that has spread to neighbouring countries.
The outbreak in DRC began with the spread of an endemic strain, known as clade I. But a new variant, clade 1b, appears to spread more easily through routine close contact, including sexual contact.
Vaccines and behaviour change helped stop transmission when a different strain of mpox spread globally in 2022, primarily among men who have sex with men. London became the epicentre of the UK outbreak, but cases have since declined.
Professor Jimmy Whitworth, an infectious diseases expert at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, said the new outbreak was “very concerning” and that the WHO’s declaration should lead to “a prompt mobilisation of money and resources”, including an increase in vaccine manufacturing.
“The cost and availability of vaccine is going to be a great challenge, but it is really important that, unlike in the Covid-19 pandemic, there is global solidarity, that the vaccine reaches the people who need it most and that it is not stockpiled by rich countries,” he said.
“This is a real challenge for the global health security community to demonstrate that they can work together for global public good and not for narrow national interests. Let us hope they take that opportunity, otherwise we risk this epidemic spreading across the African continent, and possibly beyond.”
Mpox is usually mild and causes flu-like symptoms and pus-filled lesions on the body, but it can be fatal.
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) said there are currently no cases of the virus in the UK.
Its deputy director Dr Meera Chand said: “The risk to the UK population is currently considered low.
“However, planning is under way to prepare for any cases that we might see in the UK.
“This includes ensuring that clinicians are aware and able to recognise cases promptly, that rapid testing is available, and that protocols are developed for the safe clinical care of people who have the infection and the prevention of onward transmission.”
More than 17,000 suspected cases and 517 deaths have been reported on the African continent so far this year, a 160 per cent increase in cases compared to the same period last year, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said.
A total of 13 countries have reported cases, including Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda.
Children under 15 now account for more than 70 per cent of the mpox cases and 85 per cent of deaths in Congo.
Salim Abdool Karim, a South African infectious diseases expert who chairs the Africa CDC emergency group, said the new version of mpox spreading from Congo appears to have a death rate of about 3-4 per cent.
