Egypt ups precautions as WHO declares mpox emergency
An outbreak of mpox, also known as monkeypox, in parts of Africa, is forcing Egypt to take early precautions.
Egyptian health authorities said on Thursday that they are increasing precautions after the World Health Organization (WHO) declared an emergency over the mpox outbreak in Africa.
The Ministry of Health and Population in Egypt said in a statement that authorities have “activated preventative health measures” at Egypt’s air and sea ports and land crossings in order to prevent the entry of mpox into the country. The actions include “continuing to raise the level of readiness of quarantine departments” at entry points, the ministry said.
What is mpox? Mpox, also known as monkeypox, is a viral disease that can be spread between animals and human beings. Transmission occurs in humans via physical contact, including sexual activity. Those infected with mpox usually experience a rash, while fever and muscle aches are among the other symptoms. Mpox was discovered in 1958 among monkeys, with the first human case recorded in 1970 in what is now the Democratic Republic of the Congo, according to an April update from the US Centers for Disease Control (CDC).
There are two types of mpox. Clade II, which was responsible for the 2022 global outbreak, is endemic to West Africa and has a survival rate of 99%. The other type, Clade I, causes more severe illness, and some outbreaks have killed up to 10% of those who got sick. Clade I in endemic to Central Africa, according to the CDC.
The ministry sought to ensure the public that mpox is not currently spreading at the rate the coronavirus did during the height of the pandemic.
“Reports and research indicate that it is unlikely mpox will turn into a pandemic like corona (COVID-19), but it is thus far considered a health emergency of international concern,” said the ministry in the statement.
Why it matters: The WHO declared a global emergency on Wednesday over the recent outbreak of the disease in various African countries.
There were 567 new reported cases of mpox on the African continent in June, up 22% from the month prior, and there were 934 new reported cases throughout the world, including Africa, the organization said in a Monday report. The WHO added that 208 people have died since the disease first began to spread in large numbers in early 2022.
The present situation is particularly worrisome in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where the disease is being spread among adults and children via multiple modes of transmission, as well as in parts of Western, Central and Eastern Africa. In other parts of the continent and around the world, mpox is mainly affecting men who have sex with men and is being spread via sexual contact, according to the WHO.
There weren't any new reported cases in the Eastern Mediterranean, an area that includes Egypt, parts of North Africa and the Middle East, in May and June. Cases in other parts of the world fell from May to June. There were 175 cases in the Americas in June, 100 cases in Europe, 81 cases in the Western Pacific and 11 cases in Southeast Asia, per the WHO report.
The rise in mpox cases in other parts of Africa poses a risk to the world, according to the organization’s leader.
“The potential for further spread within Africa and beyond is very worrying,” the Associated Press quoted WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus as saying on Wednesday.
On Thursday, the Public Health Agency of Sweden said a case of the Clade I variety was detected in the country. The person was infected in an unspecified part of Africa, and the case is the first of Clade I to be diagnosed outside of the continent, according to the agency.
The WHO’s declaration follows Africa’s Centers for Disease Control declaring a public health emergency on Tuesday. The head of the center’s emergency group, Salim Abdool Karim, said that the new version of mpox spreading from the Congo appears to have a death rate of 3-4%, according to the Associated Press.
