LONDON: The spread of mpox in Africa needs to be addressed urgently, the World Health Organization said on Tuesday, as scientists warned separately of a dangerous strain in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
“There is a critical need to address the recent surge in mpox cases in Africa,” Rosamund Lewis, the WHO’s technical lead for mpox, said in a briefing note to journalists.
In a separate briefing, John Claude Udahemuka of the University of Rwanda, who has been working on an outbreak in Congo’s hard-to-reach South Kivu province, said the strain spreading there — a mutated version of the clade I mpox endemic in Congo for decades — was extremely dangerous. It has fatality rates of around 5 percent in adults and 10 percent in children.
This year, roughly 8,600 mpox cases have been reported in Congo, and 410 deaths, Cris Kacita, the doctor in charge of operations in the country’s mpox control program, told Reuters last week.
Mpox is a viral infection that spreads through close contact, causing flu-like symptoms and pus-filled lesions. Most cases are mild but it can kill.
A different, less severe form of the virus — clade IIb — spread globally in 2022, largely through sexual contact among men who have sex with men. This prompted the WHO to declare a public health emergency. Although that has ended, Lewis said on Tuesday the disease remained a health threat. Two people died in South Africa this month of this form of the virus after a handful of cases were diagnosed.
Vaccines and treatments were used to combat the global outbreak, but they are not available in Congo.
The WHO and scientists said efforts were ongoing to address that.
In South Kivu, Adahemuka and other researchers said the new strain was spreading partly by sexual contact among men and women, and particularly among sex workers.
He said other close contact routes needed study, with evidence of transmission at school and from caregiver to child. The disease also seemed to be causing miscarriages among pregnant women as well as a longer-term rash and other lingering symptoms, the team said.
Leandre Murhula Masirika, research co-ordinator in the health department in South Kivu province, said 20 cases were arriving at hospital in the mining town of Kamituga every week.
“At the rate things are going, we risk becoming a source of cases for other countries,” said Kacita. South Kivu borders Rwanda and Burundi.
He said 24 of 26 provinces in Congo were affected and the outbreak was the worst mpox epidemic yet.
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WHO, scientists call for urgent action on mpox strain
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WHO, scientists call for urgent action on mpox strain
- “There is a critical need to address the recent surge in mpox cases in Africa,” Rosamund Lewis, the WHO’s technical lead for mpox, said
- John Claude Udahemuka of the University of Rwanda said the strain spreading there was extremely dangerous
French forces use tear gas to clear protesters protecting condemned cows
LES BORDES SURE ARIZE: Veterinarians arrived at a French farm Friday under police escort to slaughter a herd of cows suffering from a potentially deadly disease, an AFP reporter said, after police used tear gas to clear away angry protesters trying to protect the animals.
Farmers have staged protests in several parts of France in recent days, accusing the authorities of not doing enough to support them.
Hundreds of agricultural workers have demonstrated for two days outside the farm in the southern area of Ariege near the Spanish border.
They set up a cordon around the farm after the authorities on Wednesday said that more than 200 Blonde d’Aquitaine cows at the farm had nodular dermatitis — widely known as lumpy skin disease — and would have to be euthanized.
Gendarmes used tear gas late Thursday to fight their way past dozens of farmers who stayed after nightfall to blockade the farm in the village of Les Bordes-sur-Arize, while protesters hurled stones, branches and other makeshift missiles as hay bales burnt in the background.
Four people were arrested, Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said.
Several farmers and supporters had earlier chopped down trees and set up barricades to stop veterinary staff from entering to carry out the killing.
Regional prefect Herve Brabant said that the brothers who owned the farm had agreed to have the herd slaughtered in line with precautions against the disease.
But Pierre-Guillaume Mercadal, of the local Rural Confederation union leading the protest, said one brother had agreed and one was opposed.
“They are tearing this family apart,” he said.
- ‘In shock’ -
Marina Verge, 33, the daughter of one of the owners, on Wednesday told AFP that killing the cows amounted to destroying “almost 40 years” of their life’s work.
“They’re in shock, it’s unimaginable. They didn’t expect it,” she said.
“You don’t imagine finding yourself without livestock overnight.”
Other cases have also been detected in the region and some 3,000 of the 33,000 cattle in Ariege have already been vaccinated.
Lumpy skin disease, which cannot be passed to humans but can be fatal for cattle, first appeared in France in June. French authorities insist the outbreak is under control and that they are preparing a mass vaccination program.
The World Organization for Animal Health says that cases have also been reported in Italy this year.
According to the European Food Safety Authority, the disease is present in many African countries.
In 2012, it spread from the Middle East to Greece, Bulgaria and the Balkans. A vaccination program halted that epidemic.
Farmers have staged protests in several parts of France in recent days, accusing the authorities of not doing enough to support them.
Hundreds of agricultural workers have demonstrated for two days outside the farm in the southern area of Ariege near the Spanish border.
They set up a cordon around the farm after the authorities on Wednesday said that more than 200 Blonde d’Aquitaine cows at the farm had nodular dermatitis — widely known as lumpy skin disease — and would have to be euthanized.
Gendarmes used tear gas late Thursday to fight their way past dozens of farmers who stayed after nightfall to blockade the farm in the village of Les Bordes-sur-Arize, while protesters hurled stones, branches and other makeshift missiles as hay bales burnt in the background.
Four people were arrested, Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said.
Several farmers and supporters had earlier chopped down trees and set up barricades to stop veterinary staff from entering to carry out the killing.
Regional prefect Herve Brabant said that the brothers who owned the farm had agreed to have the herd slaughtered in line with precautions against the disease.
But Pierre-Guillaume Mercadal, of the local Rural Confederation union leading the protest, said one brother had agreed and one was opposed.
“They are tearing this family apart,” he said.
- ‘In shock’ -
Marina Verge, 33, the daughter of one of the owners, on Wednesday told AFP that killing the cows amounted to destroying “almost 40 years” of their life’s work.
“They’re in shock, it’s unimaginable. They didn’t expect it,” she said.
“You don’t imagine finding yourself without livestock overnight.”
Other cases have also been detected in the region and some 3,000 of the 33,000 cattle in Ariege have already been vaccinated.
Lumpy skin disease, which cannot be passed to humans but can be fatal for cattle, first appeared in France in June. French authorities insist the outbreak is under control and that they are preparing a mass vaccination program.
The World Organization for Animal Health says that cases have also been reported in Italy this year.
According to the European Food Safety Authority, the disease is present in many African countries.
In 2012, it spread from the Middle East to Greece, Bulgaria and the Balkans. A vaccination program halted that epidemic.
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