Harare, Zimbabwe — The United Nations said Thursday it is working with governments and health officials in Eastern and Southern Africa to contain the outbreak of mpox there.
UNICEF, the World Health Organization and the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, along with local partners, are responding to the spread of the new mpox clade 1b variant, said Etleva Kadilli, UNICEF's regional director for Eastern and Southern Africa.
Kadilli said in a statement that more than 200 confirmed cases have been detected in five countries: Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, South Africa and Uganda.
Dr. Francis Kasolo, director and head of the WHO at the African Union and U.N. Economic Commission for Africa, told a joint WHO-Africa CDC meeting, "Our collaboration has been instrumental in enhancing surveillance, laboratory capacity and effective deployment of technical capacity to countries. Together we are making progress."
But, he said, there is still much to be done.
It is imperative that we remain vigilant and proactive in our efforts to combat mpox. This means not only addressing it in the immediate needs, but also investing in long-term strategies that will build resilient health systems capable of withstanding future outbreaks and shocks," Kasolo said.
Last week, the WHO declared mpox a public health emergency of international concern following a surge of mpox in the Democratic Republic of Congo and a growing number of other African countries.
An earlier emergency was declared in 2022. The U.N. agency said that one was declared over in May 2023.
Botswana and Zimbabwe are now screening for mpox after their neighbor, South Africa, recorded three deaths from the new strain. Zimbabwe is screening for the viral ailment at all ports of entry.
"We have said all those who present [high fever] and rash should be thoroughly investigated -- where they are coming from and for how long they have been there and possible contact with people who have monkey pox," Zimbabwean Health Minister Douglas Mombeshora said, referring to mpox's previous name.
"We have kits to do tests for monkey pox," he said. "So yes, we are on a very high alert. ... I know there was a scare a few days ago. Some people were reporting on social media that there were people who had presented with some rash. They thought it was monkey pox. We did not take it for granted. The patient was said to have tested negative."
Dr. Norman Matara of Zimbabwe Doctors for Human Rights said that given the country's poor health care system, keeping mpox out is better than trying to contain it after cases appear.
"It saves the nation a lot of money because treatment is always expensive," he said. "It also prevents us from unnecessary lockdown restrictions of movements ... like what we saw with COVID-19."
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For now, he said, there is no need to panic.
"At the moment we have not recorded any case of mpox. ... We just need to increase our health surveillance so that anyone with symptoms can be isolated and they can be screened and any case can be easily identified and minimize the virus spreading in the country," Matara said.
Dr. Matshidiso Moeti, the WHO regional director for Africa, told VOA this week that the Democratic Republic of Congo was the "epicenter" of mpox. She said front-line health workers in affected areas should be given priority on vaccinations against the ailment.
"The issue of access to vaccines is something which we are working on collectively at the international level," she said. "This is really a case of negotiating with pharmaceutical companies that are able to produce the vaccine to ensure they scale up their production and increase availability of vaccines."
Besides a rash, other symptoms of the viral infection can include lesions, muscle aches and swollen lymph glands. Most people fully recover, but some become very ill and die.
