Alarmed by mpox surge, Africa CDC is poised to declare a 'continental emergency'
The Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has never done anything like this before. The agency is poised to declare a “public health emergency of continental security” as early as next week.
Since the beginning of last year, mpox cases have been surging in the Democratic Republic of Congo, with children making up the majority of the 14,000 reported cases and 511 deaths so far in 2024. Those numbers roughly match the number of cases reported in all of last year in the country.
This should probably be the main link, since NPR is a very familiar site and is also (presumably) not going to be slashdotted by us.
> Kaseya says that it’s particularly concerning that about 70% of cases in the DRC are in children under 18. “This one is a major alarm for the world,” he says. “We are losing the youth in Africa.”
Health Policy Watch reports on the leading global health policy challenges & trends, linking journalists in global North and South on an independent, non-profit platform. Sign up here for daily email alerts. Follow us @HealthPolicyW.
Health Policy Watch provides open-access reporting that serves all stakeholders in the global health policymaking community by enhancing transparency and informed engagement.
Working on a “networking” paradigm for health policy coverage, Health Policy Watch is partnering with professional, accredited journalists reporting from key regional policy hubs across Africa, South-East Asia and Latin America so as to better incorporate and advance local perspectives on top global health policy issues. Health Policy Watch aims to offer:
Critical coverage that goes beyond fast-breaking health emergencies to reflect research, policy and governance debates and developments; Ensure regional trends, challenges and debates are reflected in global processes; Advance a holistic approach to breaking news in a global health community where issues are often addressed by distinct professional sub-communities working in silos; Provide a virtual meeting place that links the dots and brings a disparate community into closer communication.
>> The illness is usually mild and most of those infected will recover within a few weeks without treatment.
However, in the 2022 global outbreak 112 deaths were reported in 87,000 cases, with other sources reporting a risk of death as high as 0.025%.[1][25] Most reported deaths in this outbreak were among those who were immunocompromised either due to medication or poorly controlled HIV infection
Health Policy Watch reports on the leading global health policy challenges & trends, linking journalists in global North and South on an independent, non-profit platform. Sign up here for daily email alerts. Follow us @HealthPolicyW.
Health Policy Watch provides open-access reporting that serves all stakeholders in the global health policymaking community by enhancing transparency and informed engagement.
Working on a “networking” paradigm for health policy coverage, Health Policy Watch is partnering with professional, accredited journalists reporting from key regional policy hubs across Africa, South-East Asia and Latin America so as to better incorporate and advance local perspectives on top global health policy issues. Health Policy Watch aims to offer:
Critical coverage that goes beyond fast-breaking health emergencies to reflect research, policy and governance debates and developments;
Ensure regional trends, challenges and debates are reflected in global processes;
Advance a holistic approach to breaking news in a global health community where issues are often addressed by distinct professional sub-communities working in silos; Provide a virtual meeting place that links the dots and brings a disparate community into closer communication.
Alarmed by mpox surge, Africa CDC is poised to declare a 'continental emergency'
The Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has never done anything like this before. The agency is poised to declare a “public health emergency of continental security” as early as next week.
Since the beginning of last year, mpox cases have been surging in the Democratic Republic of Congo, with children making up the majority of the 14,000 reported cases and 511 deaths so far in 2024. Those numbers roughly match the number of cases reported in all of last year in the country.