The World Health Organization on Wednesday declared the deadly new form of mpox spreading through parts of Africa a global health emergency.
An emergency committee convened by the WHO said mpox now amounts to a public health emergency of international concern, which is the highest alert level under international health law. WHO developed a $15 million regional response plan for surveillance, preparedness and response. It's already tapped $1.45 million from an emergency fund but is asking donors to pitch in.
PS: There are two clades of monkeypox. Clade 1 and Clade 2. The 2022 outbreak was caused by the relatively mild Clade 2. However, this time it is the far more deadly Clade 1 - which has killed up to 10% of those getting sick in previous outbreaks - that is surging.
A mutation of the virus around September last year, led to an offshoot - called Clade 1b - that has since spread rapidly. This new variant has been labelled “the most dangerous yet”.
Sweden reported a case recently and it's the first case caused by clade 1 to be diagnosed outside the African continent.. In this case a person has been infected during a stay in the part of Africa where there is a major outbreak of mpox clade I. The person in Sweden who has been confirmed to be infected has received care and rules of conduct, says Magnus Gisslén, state epidemiologist at the Public Health Agency of Sweden.
PS: A case from Pakistan has been just reported, but the sequencing results hasn't been completed as yet to detremine whether it's Clade 1.
An emergency committee convened by the WHO said mpox now amounts to a public health emergency of international concern, which is the highest alert level under international health law. WHO developed a $15 million regional response plan for surveillance, preparedness and response. It's already tapped $1.45 million from an emergency fund but is asking donors to pitch in.
PS: There are two clades of monkeypox. Clade 1 and Clade 2. The 2022 outbreak was caused by the relatively mild Clade 2. However, this time it is the far more deadly Clade 1 - which has killed up to 10% of those getting sick in previous outbreaks - that is surging.
A mutation of the virus around September last year, led to an offshoot - called Clade 1b - that has since spread rapidly. This new variant has been labelled “the most dangerous yet”.
Sweden reported a case recently and it's the first case caused by clade 1 to be diagnosed outside the African continent.. In this case a person has been infected during a stay in the part of Africa where there is a major outbreak of mpox clade I. The person in Sweden who has been confirmed to be infected has received care and rules of conduct, says Magnus Gisslén, state epidemiologist at the Public Health Agency of Sweden.
PS: A case from Pakistan has been just reported, but the sequencing results hasn't been completed as yet to detremine whether it's Clade 1.
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