(Geneva) The WHO recommended on Monday that countries affected by the mpox variant that recently appeared in Africa launch vaccination plans in areas where cases have appeared.
The resurgence of MPOX in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), driven by clade 1b which also affects Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda, prompted the World Health Organization (WHO) to declare a public health emergency of international concern on August 14, the highest level of health alert.
The WHO had already taken such a decision in 2022 when an epidemic of mpox, then carried by clade 2b, had spread across the world. The alert had been lifted in May 2023 but the WHO had made public recommendations for all countries, asking them in particular to prepare national control plans and to maintain surveillance capacities.
Those recommendations still stand, but WHO on Monday provided additional recommendations for “countries experiencing a resurgence of the epidemic, including, but not limited to, the DRC, Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda,” the organization said.
PHOTO GUERCHOM NDEBO, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
A patient has a saliva sample taken for testing at the Mpox treatment center at Nyiragongo General Referral Hospital, north of Goma, on August 17.
WHO recommends that they, among other things, “initiate plans to advance smallpox vaccination activities.” […] in areas where cases have appeared [à savoir lorsque la maladie s’est déclarée au cours des deux à quatre semaines précédentes, ciblant les personnes à risque d’infection élevé [par exemple, les contacts des cas, y compris les contacts sexuels, les enfants, les travailleurs de la santé et le personnel soignant] “.
Regarding international transport, WHO recommends “establishing or strengthening cross-border collaborative arrangements for surveillance and management of suspected cases of mpox, communication of information to travellers and transport companies”.
But this must be implemented “without resorting to blanket restrictions on travel and trade that would have an unnecessary impact on local, regional or national economies,” she stresses.
WHO also calls on affected countries to establish or strengthen emergency response coordination mechanisms at national and local levels, to strengthen disease surveillance and detection, differentiating between clades, and to report cases to it “in a timely manner and on a weekly basis.”
She further urges them to improve research, combat stigma associated with the disease and improve the skills of health workers on MPOX while providing them with personal protective equipment.
A total of 18,737 suspected or confirmed cases of mpox have been reported in Africa since the beginning of the year, the African Union’s health agency (Africa CDC) said on Saturday.