WHO maintains highest alert level for mpox outbreak
Friday, 29/11/2024 19:11 (GMT+7)
The WHO Director-General has confirmed that the mpox outbreak remains a public health emergency of international concern, extending the emergency first declared on August 14.
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| Medical staff treat a patient with mpox at a hospital in North Kivu province, the Democratic Republic of Congo. (Photo: Xinhuanet/VNA) |
The World Health Organization (WHO) has decided to keep its alert for the mpox epidemic at the highest level, as the number of cases and countries affected still rises.
The WHO said the decision was based on three main factors: the increasing number and continuing geographical spread of cases, operational challenges in the field, and the need to mount and sustain a cohesive response across countries and partners.
The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is the country hardest hit by the outbreak, followed by Burundi and Nigeria.
Mpox is caused by a virus that has been transmitted from animals to humans. It can also be transmitted from person to person through close contact. Symptoms include fever, muscular aches and large boil-like skin lesions, which can lead to death.
The August emergency declaration was made in response to a surge in cases of the new Clade 1b strain in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and its spread to neighboring countries.
According to the WHO, this year saw that and other mpox strains reported across 80 countries, including 19 in Africa./.
BTA