An outbreak of mpox, previously known as monkeypox, in parts of Africa has been declared a global health emergency.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) made the decision in a bid to curb the spread of the highly contagious disease. The virus has killed at least 450 people during an initial outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo. WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a press conference it was "very worrying" and that a coordinated international response is “essential to save lives".
Mpox, transmitted through close contact and causing flu-like symptoms, has now spread across central and east Africa. Scientists are alarmed by the rapid spread and high fatality rate of a new variant. In 2022, the UK experienced a significant monkeypox outbreak, reporting some of the highest case numbers in Europe.
Steve Fouch from Christian Medical Fellowship told Premier it’s worrying because this new variant is stronger than the one seen two years ago: “That strain seems to have undergone a mutation recently, so it's a more virulent version than the normal virulent form that was circulating before. It's got a higher death rate and it is spreading more rapidly amongst people. So there are concerns that this is something that's escalating quite quickly.”
Fouch added that the WHO had acted swiftly on an international level to “lockdown” mpox and urged countries to “keep an eye on the virus” to prevent it from spreading significantly. He urged Christians to pray for missionaries working in hospitals in Africa and for everyone at risk of contracting the virus, which he said inevitably affected the most vulnerable:
“There are measures that can be taken to keep yourself safe. Vaccination is also an option, which I’m guessing a lot of mission staff will probably be able to afford in a way that, sadly, the local people won’t. And there is a justice issue within this—why is it always the poor who suffer? As Christians, we should be concerned about that and seek to ensure that the poor and the vulnerable are the ones being protected.”