If you can't stop M-Fox, the whole world is in danger"…expert warning

Health experts have warned that MPOX (monkeypox virus) is prevalent in Africa and that failure to properly deal with it could increase human casualties around the world.

According to the Guardian of the United Kingdom on the 17th (local time), global health experts warned that the world would be at risk if they could not cooperate with African countries at the center of the M.Fox outbreak.



On the 14th, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared an international public health emergency (PHEIC), the highest level of health alert, as the number of cases of Empox spreading beyond the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) increased.

So far this year, more than 18,700 cases of infection and more than 500 deaths have been reported in Africa, which exceeds the number of M.Fox infections in 2023 alone. In response, the African Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has declared a public health emergency in Africa.

"Failure to respond strongly (to a public health emergency) could have serious consequences," said Dr. Ebere Okereke, an associate researcher at the global health program at Chatham House, a British think tank. "Potentially new and more dangerous variants could spread further. If we don't act now, not only Africa but the whole world will be at risk."



Regarding both the WHO and CDC declarations, he said, "It is an opportunity to test the international response to the health emergency after COVID-19 and to demonstrate that lessons on equity have been learned." This is because, during the COVID-19 pandemic, issues of equity between developed and developing countries in drugs and treatment were raised.

"Emfox has been prevalent in a handful of African countries for years, but even though there are drugs to treat it, strong action has not been taken until it poses a threat to the West," said Nick Dearden, director of Global Justice Now.

"Pharmaceutical companies continue to impede equitable access to vaccines as they pursue more profits," he said. "We will prevent developed countries from repeating inequality against large pharmaceutical companies."

Empox can be infected through animal-to-human contact, human-to-human contact, infected environment, and person-to-person contact. It is mainly transmitted through contact with symptomatic infected patients.

According to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, when infected, a rash appears one to three days later, starting with fever, chills, lymph node swelling, fatigue, muscle pain and back pain, headache, and respiratory symptoms. The rash can appear near the face, mouth, hand, foot, chest, and anal genital organs.