Will Monkeypox Result in the Next Global Shutdown?

The CDC has stated that if the virus spreads in the U.S., Europe, or any developed countries it can be controlled by vaccinations, but impoverished areas like Africa and poor countries would suffer a lot due to lack of swiftness and people’s lack of knowledge about the virus.

The World Health Organization on Wednesday declared mpox as a Global Health Emergency. They have declared the highest possible alarms to avoid a global pandemic again.WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a press conference, “Today, the emergency committee met and advised me that in its view, the situation constitutes a public health emergency of international concern. I have accepted that advice”. He added that the potential spread of the disease across Africa is very worrying and it is clear that coordinated international responses are essential to stop the outbreaks and save lives.

This is a huge concern as this year alone more than 14,000 cases have been reported with 524 deaths in DR Congo and 38,465 cases and 1,456 deaths in Africa since January 2022 due to the disease. These outbreaks include the two variants of the virus clade I and II, along with the new variant, clad Ib, which seems to be driving the outbreak in DRC and neighbouring countries. Uncertainties about the virus make it a lot more dangerous than before and children are particularly vulnerable to this variant. This virus has appeared to be spreading via sexual networks but it is not pinpointed how it is transmitted.

A large number of cases of pregnant women catching the virus and a high number of pregnancy losses and babies born with mpox lesions, make us exposed to a lot of unknowns. The CDC has stated that if the virus spreads in the U.S., Europe, or any developed countries it can be controlled by vaccinations, but impoverished areas like Africa and poor countries would suffer a lot due to lack of swiftness and people’s lack of knowledge about the virus. Without clarity on the virus itself, we can’t judge the severity it might reach. The CDC had hoped that a declaration would prompt the African governments to notice the seriousness and allocate funds to which as a response the African Union had allocated 10.4 million U.S. dollars. Still, the CDC reports show, they will need about 4 billion for the continent.

Mpox, formerly known as monkeypox (mpox), is a viral illness caused by the monkeypox virus, a species of the genus Orthopoxvirus. This virus is a part of the virus family that causes smallpox. Mpox is a zoonotic disease that can spread between animals and people. It is endemic, or found regularly, in parts of Central and West Africa. The virus that causes mpox has been found in small rodents, monkeys, and other mammals that live in these areas. The virus itself was discovered in 1958, when a pox-like disease spread among a colony of monkeys kept for research, thus naming it ‘monkeypox’. however, the source is still unknown. The first recorded human case was recorded in 1970, in the modern-day Democratic Republic of Congo. Until 2022 it was an isolated disease that was rarely linked to travel and animals imported from the region, but now it has been spread around the world.

Avinash Krishna