Emergency Declared in Africa Due to Spread of 'Monkeypox'

One of the most important public health institutions on the African continent has declared a state of emergency due to the spread of 'Monkeypox', which has spread from the Democratic Republic of Congo to other countries. 'Monkeypox', previously known as monkeypox, is a contagious infectious disease transmitted through close contact between humans. Its symptoms include fever, headache, muscle aches, and extreme fatigue, and it may be accompanied by pus-filled blisters on the skin. Most cases of this disease are considered mild, but in some cases, it can lead to the patient's death. The recent outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo began with the spread of a type of 'Monkeypox' called 'Clade I', but it appears that a new type called 'Clade IB' is spreading more rapidly, particularly among children. The African Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned last week that the speed of the disease's spread has reached a dangerous level. According to this center, since the beginning of this year, more than 15,000 cases and at least 461 deaths due to 'Monkeypox' have been recorded, indicating a 160% increase compared to the same period last year. This disease was first identified in laboratory monkeys in Denmark in the 1950s. The first human cases of 'Monkeypox' were recorded in 1970 in the Democratic Republic of Congo, and since then it has been considered endemic in parts of Africa. In 2022, significant cases of this disease were identified in over a hundred countries worldwide, most of which were outside Africa. Public health experts believe that the main reason for its transmission was sexual relations with infected individuals. The World Health Organization declared this disease an 'international emergency' in the same year, which is the highest level of alert from this organization. Ten months later, the World Health Organization lifted this alert, stating that the emergency had been contained. Two years after the previous alert, the World Health Organization recently announced that cases of 'Monkeypox' are once again on the rise and has convened an emergency committee meeting to assess the extent of the disease's spread. The number of 'Monkeypox' cases outside Africa was 963 in May of this year and decreased to 934 in June. However, the World Health Organization believes that the actual number of cases is higher than these figures, as not all infected individuals are identified, and some suspected individuals are unwilling to be tested. The World Health Organization's emergency committee is set to meet on Wednesday, August 15, to examine the nature and extent of the new 'Monkeypox' variant's spread and decide on declaring it an 'international emergency'.