Mpox virus on the rise in Africa The vaccine needed is in the wrong countries
A new variant of the Mpox virus has prompted the World Health Organization to declare its highest alert level. The vaccine needed to contain it is in the wrong countries.
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- The new so-called Ib variant of the Mpox virus is spreading in Africa.
- The World Health Organization (WHO) has therefore now declared the highest alert level.
- The affected African countries do not have enough vaccines to combat the outbreak.
- The WHO has therefore appealed to other countries to make their stocks available.
- The new variant is more contagious and leads to more severe courses of the disease than the one that led to the WHO declaring an emergency back in 2022.
The new so-called Ib variant of the Mpox virus is spreading in Africa. Deaths are increasing, particularly in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, but the numbers are also rising in other African countries. More than 14,000 suspected cases and 500 deaths have already been counted. The number of unreported cases is estimated to be high.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has now declared a "public health emergency of international concern". This is its highest warning level. Although this declaration has no concrete impact, it does have a special intention.
It is intended to make the serious situation clear to other countries. As Dr. Jan Fehr, Head of the Zurich Centre for Travel Medicine, explains in an interview with the "Tagesanzeiger", this step is "above all important so that the affected countries in sub-Saharan Africa now receive targeted and rapid support in order to get the prevailing health crisis under control".
500,000 doses of vaccine in other countries
Although they need it most urgently, there is not enough vaccine in African countries. According to the WHO, other parts of the world have 500,000 doses of the required vaccine and the production of 2.4 million more would be possible with firm orders.
The organization is therefore appealing to countries with stocks to make their stocks available. A second suitable vaccine is also being produced in Japan. However, the Asian country has always been generous in such situations. However, the EU has agreed to provide 175,000 doses.
The second intended effect of the emergency declared by the WHO is to prepare the rest of the world for a possible further spread of the virus. Doctors should develop an awareness of the disease and test suspected cases accordingly, Fehr continued.
No danger for Switzerland so far
The expert warned against scaremongering. Switzerland should be "prepared for a situation with increased infections such as 2022". However, there have been no known cases of the Mpox virus of the Ib variant to date and there is no reason to assume that there is cause for concern in Switzerland.
There was already an Mbox outbreak in 2022, which also prompted the WHO to declare an emergency. The variant of the virus at the time caused less severe disease progression than the Ib variant. The emergency was lifted in May 2023.
Mpox was previously known as monkeypox. In the meantime, however, names of animals or even countries should be avoided when naming diseases. One of the reasons for this is the possible spread and consolidation of prejudices.
