Mpox, that’s its name. Formerly called monkeypox, this pathology is back with a more virulent and contagious variant. First appearing in Central Africa, the virus is starting to spread outside this continent. In this context, Dr. Lyès Akhamouk, head of the infectious diseases department at Tamanrasset Hospital, explains what Algeria must do.
A first case has been diagnosed in Sweden and another in Pakistan. The WHO has just sounded the alarm: ” Europe is expected to see more cases of Mpox,” it said.
Infectious disease specialists say monkeypox, called Mpox, is back in its most virulent form. Many cases were diagnosed in Congo before affecting other countries in central Africa.
Meeting in an emergency meeting last Wednesday, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the monkeypox outbreak a public health emergency of international concern.
To learn a little more about this new epidemic, TSA contacted Doctor Lyès Akhamouk, head of the infectious diseases department at Tamanrasset hospital, in the far south of Algeria.
Epidemic outbreak
Epidemiology specialists are on high alert. The Covid-19 episode is fresh in everyone’s memory and the new strain of monkeypox is not to be taken lightly, as Dr. Lyès Akhamouk confided to TSA.
” The monkeypox epidemic has been monitored very closely since 2022. We are currently witnessing an epidemic outbreak in Africa, particularly in Congo, but the disease is beginning to spill over into neighboring countries. Currently, there are around 40,000 cases with a death rate of 1,500 deaths in fifteen African countries, such as the Democratic Republic of Congo, Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda, and even South Africa. Although this disease has been known for at least sixty years, this new strain worries the WHO,” he explains.
The first strain of the virus, which first appeared in 2022 in its mild form, had spread to around a hundred countries. A new, more deadly variant was recently discovered in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
” This epidemic worries the WHO because of the appearance of a viral strain that is more dangerous and above all more contagious than that of 2022. The latest biomedical research carried out in Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo, has shown that this new strain, currently called MB, is more dangerous and more contagious with a death rate of 3%, whereas at the start of the epidemic outbreak, it was only 0.2%. The WHO has called a meeting to discuss a possible declaration of a state of emergency concerning other areas of Africa, including North Africa,” says the infectious disease specialist.
Dr. Lyès Akhamouk gives us more details on this pathology. ” It is a cousin of smallpox. The latter had been eradicated thanks to global vaccination at the end of the 1970s. However, monkeypox still exists and appears in epidemics.” This new strain is causing many deaths, hence the WHO’s concern.
Transmission
How is this disease transmitted? Answer from the head of the department at Tamanrasset Hospital: ” Monkeypox can be transmitted from an animal to a human. Contrary to its name, it is not only monkeys that are affected, but also small rodents, particularly squirrels that live in Central Africa. Furthermore, this pathology is transmitted from one human to another, either through sexual intercourse or through contact with bodily fluids.”
Symptoms
Mpox is therefore transmitted after intimate contact with an infected person. But what are the symptoms of this disease? ” We are faced with a pseudo-flu syndrome: fever, headaches, pain in the joints and muscles. After a few days, we see an outbreak of spots on the body that are reminiscent of chickenpox or smallpox. In most cases, recovery is spontaneous and without after-effects. However, in some cases, it is encephalitis. The virus infects the brain and it is death,” explains the infectiologist.
Faced with the worrying return of Mpox, Dr. Lyès Akhamouk calls for the greatest vigilance in Algeria. ” I think it is time to launch an awareness campaign in Algeria through ministerial instructions to explain what this disease is, particularly at our southern borders which are in contact with the Sahel countries and to prepare for any epidemic danger.”
Given the rapid spread of this infectious disease, health measures should be taken by the public authorities, particularly at the borders of southern Algeria, in order to avoid contamination of the population by this new variant of monkeypox.
