Lack of Treatment Fuels Mpox Epidemic, Killing Many in Country 

Lack of Treatment Fuels Mpox Epidemic, Killing Many in Country. Credit | Getty Images
Lack of Treatment Fuels Mpox Epidemic, Killing Many in Country. Credit | Getty Images

United States: The African health officials stated a spike of 160 percent in mpox cases in the past year and raised an alert of a further increase in number to higher levels given the lack of effective treatments or vaccines on the continent. 

More about the news 

According to the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Wednesday’s report confirmed that monkeypox, short for mpox, has been reported in ten African countries this year, where the Central African Republic was among the first ones to report a new outbreak on Monday, stating it spread across its densely populated capital, Bangui. 

The Central African Republic’s public health minister, Pierre Somsé, said, “We are very concerned about the cases of monkeypox, which is ravaging region 7 of the country,” as the Hill reports. 

Lack of Treatment Fuels Mpox Epidemic, Killing Many in Country. Credit | AP
Lack of Treatment Fuels Mpox Epidemic, Killing Many in Country. Credit | AP

As per the African CDC, more than ten house cases were reported by the agency, and 96 percent were from the Congo. The reports of the emergence of a new variety of mpox came from the Congolese mining town, where the fear of spread among several people was highlighted. 

As per the experts, mpox quickly spreads through close contact, including via sex. 

What more are the experts stating? 

The African CDC stated that the mpox death rate is lying around 3 percent of the total cases reported, which “has been much higher on the African continent compared to the rest of the world.” 

Moreover, the variety of the virus that Congo is witnessing has the potential to kill more than 10% of those infected. 

Genetic mutations in virus reported 

The analysis performed on the patients hospitalized from October to January in the eastern side of Congo revealed that the recently held genetic mutations in the virus have been involved in the ongoing spread of people. 

Unlike the previous mpox outbreaks, where effects of the virus were generally observed in the chest areas, hands, or feet, the new variety portrays milder levels of symptoms at the genitals as well. 

According to Dr. Louis Massing, medical director for Congo at Doctors Without Borders, “There is a real risk of explosion, given the huge population movements in and out,” as the Hill reported,