Geneva: While there were 316 new confirmed mpox (earlier called Monkey Pox) cases and two new deaths reported to the World Health Organization (WHO) as of July 11, 2023, a significant increase in cases was observed in South-East Asia region between July 3 and 9, 2023, driven by sustained community transmission in Thailand, according to the latest Multi-country outbreak of mpox, External Situation Report 26, published by the World Health Organization (WHO) here today.
Available information on these cases shows that all cases are male, self-identified as men who have sex with men, most from Bangkok without a travel history abroad in the 21 days prior to symptom onset. The main route of transmission reported was sexual contact. Around half of the new cases are among people living with HIV, but so far, no severe illness or death due to mpox has been registered in Thailand.
The WHO report says transmission continues also in the Western Pacific driven by new cases in China.
While seventeen of the 112 affected countries have reported new cases within the last 21 days, six of these countries are in the Region of the Americas, five are in the European Region, three are in the Western Pacific Region, two are in the African Region, and one in the South-East Asia Region. Some of these countries continue to have sustained community transmission of mpox, while others report sporadic cases.
As of 11 July 2023, the ten countries that have reported the highest cumulative number of cases globally are the United States of America (n = 30 324), Brazil (n = 10 961), Spain (n = 7559), France (n = 4147), Colombia (n = 4090), Mexico (n = 4031), Peru (n = 3812), The United Kingdom (n = 3761), Germany (n = 3691), and Canada (n = 1496). Together, these countries account for 83.7% of the cases reported globally.
The virus transmission continues at a low level in the majority of countries reporting cases, and the main epidemiological and clinical characteristics of cases have remained stable over time.
It has been almost one year since the WHO Director-General declared the global outbreak of mpox a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC) on July 23, 2022, following the second meeting of the International Health Regulations (2005) (IHR) Emergency Committee for the multi-country mpox outbreak. On May 11, 2023, following the fifth meeting of the Emergency Committee, the Director-General lifted the PHEIC for mpox, nonetheless stating that “mpox continues to pose significant public health challenges that need a robust, active, and sustainable response.
Mpox has long been known to spread to humans through contact with wild animals such as forest-dwelling small rodents such as sun squirrels, as well as primates such as colobus monkeys. However, it can also be transmitted from human to human via direct contact with skin lesions of a person with mpox, or contact with materials contaminated by their skin lesions or bodily fluids.
During 2023, samples were taken from 156 wild animals, including rodents and primates, during specific sampling activities for animal surveillance and research purposes. Of these, 100 (64%) tested positive for the MPXV. None were directly linked to zoonotic spillover events or mpox in human populations.
Given the fresh understanding of how mpox spreads between people, WHO said a renewed focus on human-to-human transmission was essential to avert the establishment of mpox as an epidemic disease around the world.
The first human case of mpox in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC; then called Zaire) was documented in 1970 in the Équateur province. Prior to the ongoing global outbreak, DRC was the country reporting the most mpox cases worldwide, with the cases being reported in 17 of its 26 provinces, including in Kinshasa. Many of these affected areas fall within the equatorial rainforest, where the virus circulates among wild animals, presumed to be at the root of zoonotic transmission events, which however remain largely unconfirmed. In 2023, cases are being notified from Kwango province for the first time, illustrating the continuing geographic expansion of mpox in the country.
From January 1 to June 25, 2023, there were 5236 suspected cases and 229 deaths from mpox among suspected cases reported in the DRC. WHO said the ongoing mpox situation in the DRC remains a significant public health concern that necessitates continual monitoring and response. It further warned that since the onset of the global outbreak of 2022-2023, it is clear that mpox can occur in any country or location, and that introduction or re-introduction of the virus that causes mpox remains an ongoing risk for all countries.
– global bihari bureau
