Last week, on August 14th, 2024, the World Health Organisation (WHO) declared the Monkeypox (Mpox) outbreak in several African countries a global public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC). 

The announcement came a day after the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) announced that the current outbreak was a cause of continental concern.

At least 12 African countries, including previously unaffected nations like Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, and Uganda, have reported Mpox outbreaks. So far, in 2024, these countries have confirmed 2,863 cases and 517 deaths, with the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) being the worst hit. 

The name “monkeypox” originated from the virus’s initial discovery in monkeys in a Danish laboratory in 1958. The first human case was identified in a child in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in 1970.

The disease is transmitted from one person to another through close contact with lesions, body fluids, respiratory droplets, and contaminated materials such as bedding. Its incubation period is usually six to 13 days but can range from five to 21 days. 

Monkeypox usually goes away after a week or two. Still, it may be severe in some individuals, such as children, pregnant women, or persons with immunosuppression due to other health conditions.

According to the Africa CDC, Suspected cases across Africa have surged past 17,000, a significant increase from 7,146 cases in 2022 and 14,957 cases in 2023. “This is just the tip of the iceberg when we consider the many weaknesses in surveillance, laboratory testing and contact tracing,” they said in a statement.

This is the second time Mpox has been declared a PHEIC in two years, with the first time being back in 2022 when an outbreak spread through the US and Europe. Here at home, the Department of Health has called for increased vigilance and has reported. They announced on 18 August that South Africa’s number of pox cases remains at 24 (the same number as on 4 August)—19 have recovered, three have died, and two are still active.

Two clades or variants are currently in circulation: Clade I and Clade II. Clade I is more severe, with a mortality rate of up to 10% of all infected people. We’re now seeing the emergence of Clade Ib, which spreads more easily between humans. It is potentially more dangerous, which is why WHO declared a public health emergency.  

Is the next pandemic here? Not if vaccines are distributed equally. Writing in the British Medical Journal (BMJ), experts Ifedayo MO Adetifa, who is the former director general of Nigeria Center for Disease Control & Prevention, Abuja, Nigeria and Madhukar Pai from the Department of Global and Public Health, School of Population and Global Health, McGill University, Montreal, Canada, have called for vaccine equity and have said that they worry that developed countries will repeat the mistakes made during previous pandemics. “Having observed COVID-19 and previous epidemics, we have every reason to worry that high-income nations will make the same mistakes again—from vaccine hoarding to unfair travel bans and anti-Black racism. We are concerned that the rest of the world will once again resort to performative charity and fail to act in authentic solidarity with Africa,” they said. 

Professor Micheal Marks from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine told The Guardian that while Mpox was a cause for concern, it is unlikely to become a global pandemic. “Good public health interventions should be able to significantly alter the spread. The difficulty is that some of the people with mild symptoms won’t assume that it’s mpox,” he said.