Africa's mpox outbreaks result from neglect and world's inability to stop epidemics, experts say

London: The rising mpox outbreaks in Africa that triggered the World Health Organization s emergency declaration are largely the result of decades of...

London: The rising mpox outbreaks in Africa that triggered the World Health Organization’s emergency declaration are largely the result of decades of neglect and the global community’s inability to stop sporadic epidemics among a population with little immunity against the smallpox-related disease, leading African scientists said Tuesday.

According to Dr. Dimie Ogoina, who chaired WHO’s mpox emergency committee, negligence has led to a new, more transmissible version of the virus emerging in countries with few resources to stop outbreaks.

Mpox, also known as monkeypox, had been spreading mostly undetected for years in Nigeria and elsewhere before the disease prompted the 2022 outbreak in more than 70 countries, Ogoina said at a virtual news conference.

"What we are witnessing in Africa now is different from the global outbreak in 2022,” he said.

And while most people over 50 were likely vaccinated against smallpox - which may provide some protection against mpox - that is not the case for Africa’s mostly young population, who Ogoina said were mostly susceptible.