The World Health Organization has declared the outbreak of "Mpox" monkeypox in parts of Africa as a public health emergency of international concern.

This highly contagious disease, previously known as monkeypox, has claimed at least 450 lives during its initial outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

It has now spread across parts of Central and East Africa, raising concerns among scientists due to the rapid spread of the new variant of the disease and the high mortality rate associated with it, according to the BBC.

The Director-General of the World Health Organization, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, expressed deep concern about the potential for further spread of the disease within Africa and beyond, stressing the importance of a coordinated international response to stop this outbreak and save lives.

• What is monkeypox?
According to the World Health Organization, monkeypox, abbreviated as Mpox, is a disease caused by the monkeypox virus.

It is a viral infection that can spread between people and sometimes from the environment to people through objects and surfaces touched by an infected person. In areas where the monkeypox virus exists among some wildlife,

it can also be transmitted from infected animals to humans who come into contact with them.

• How does the disease spread?
Mpox spreads through close contact, such as sexual activity, skin-to-skin contact, and breathing in close proximity to an infected person. This disease causes symptoms similar to the flu, skin lesions, and can be fatal with a mortality rate of up to 4% among those infected.

The virus can also be transmitted during pregnancy to the fetus, during childbirth, or afterwards through skin-to-skin contact, or from an infected parent to a baby or child during close interaction.

During the global outbreak that erupted in 2022, the virus primarily spread through sexual contact.

The outbreak can be controlled using vaccines; however, these vaccines are typically only available to those at highest risk or who have had close contact with an infected person, according to the World Health Organization.

There are two main types of Mpox - Clade 1 and Clade 2. The previous public health emergency declared in 2022 was due to the Clade 2 strain, which is considered relatively milder.

However, the more lethal Clade 1 strain is currently spreading and has caused up to 10% mortality in previous outbreaks.

Since the beginning of this year, over 13,700 cases of Mpox have been reported in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, with at least 450 deaths. The disease has also been identified in other African countries such as Burundi, the Central African Republic, Kenya, and Rwanda.

Experts hope that declaring Mpox as a public health emergency will accelerate research, funding efforts, and the implementation of international public health measures.

• What does declaring an emergency mean?
The emergency declaration issued by the World Health Organization aims to urge donor agencies and countries to take action. However, the global response to previous declarations has been mixed.

Dr. John Nkengasong, the Director of the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, stated that the agency's public health emergency declaration aimed to "mobilize our institutions, collective will, and resources to act swiftly and decisively." He urged international partners in Africa for assistance, stating that the rise in cases in Africa has largely been ignored.