2023-12-01 05:15:00
“The risk of Mpox spreading to neighboring countries and throughout the world appears significant.” The World Health Organization (WHO) warned on Thursday, November 23, of the Mpox epidemic situation in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
For several months, the rapid spread of the virus in the country has worried the WHO, which fears a progression of the epidemic to neighboring countries but also around the world.
Thus, between January 1, 2023 and November 12, 2023, 12,589 suspected cases of Mpox were recorded in the DRC. Including 581 deaths. This is the highest number of annual cases ever reported, with new cases in geographic areas that had not previously reported Mpox.
New characteristics of transmission modes
Mpox, previously called monkeypox, is an emerging zoonosis, first identified in 1970 in Congo. First present in rodents in Africa, it is an infectious disease caused by the monkeypox virus.
After outbreaks of epidemics localized on the African continent, monkeypox was responsible for a global epidemic in humans in 2022. Declared a global health emergency in July 2022, the WHO pointed to an “extraordinary” spread at 75 non-endemic countries. The WHO lifted the alert in May 2023 but called for continued vigilance.
“All countries, including their health authorities and clinicians/health workers, should take note that the global Mpox epidemic is ongoing,” the WHO warns again in its report.
It warns of “new characteristics of the modes of transmission of the disease, sexual and unknown, which raise concerns about the rapid and continued expansion of the epidemic”.
It is therefore recommended to continue to follow recent WHO recommendations to combat the spread of the virus: epidemiological surveillance, strengthening of laboratory diagnostic capacities, public awareness, provision of vaccines, appropriate care cases, strengthening research to better understand the modes of transmission…
The WHO is also calling for support from States for the development of rapid diagnostics.
Symptoms lasting 2 to 4 weeks
The first symptoms appear after an incubation of 12 days on average. It is initially a febrile syndrome lasting 1 to 4 days. Then comes the eruptive phase with skin eruptions lasting 2 to 4 weeks – small spots evolving into pustules and crusts.
The Pasteur Institute specifies that the epidemic which has hit Europe since 2022 is characterized by skin rashes localized on the genital and peri-annal areas. Complications such as skin superinfections, septicemia, encephalitis or corneal damage can in rare cases lead to death.
“The Mpox virus can be transmitted by direct contact with skin lesions or mucous membranes of a sick person, as well as by droplets (saliva, sneezing, spit, etc.) and by indirect contact with the patient’s environment (bedding, clothing , dishes, bath linens, etc.)”, notes the Ministry of Health and Prevention. Two vaccines are currently available for people at risk.
Mpox evolves favorably after two to four weeks in the vast majority of cases. In 2022, in the epidemic context in Europe, mortality amounted to 0.03% of cases.
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