CHILD refugees are particularly vulnerable to the growing outbreak of a new variant of the disease mpox, which has been declared a public-health emergency of international concern by the World Health Organization (WHO).
Charities are calling for immediate action, including efforts to tackle misinformation and stigma about the disease, formerly known as monkeypox.
A vaccination against an earlier variant of mpox is available, and a mass vaccination programme is due to begin in the DRC — where the new outbreak is most intense — and Nigeria next week. Although the vaccine has not been tested against the new Clade Ib variant, it is expected to continue to offer some protection.
The African Union health agency Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) has said that it has a “clear plan” to obtain ten million doses of vaccine for the continent. It says that the Danish vaccine manufacturer Bavarian Nordic will transfer its technology to African manufacturers so that the vaccine can be made locally to increase the supply and reduce the cost.
Around 570 people have died in Africa in recent months owing to the new variant. The disease causes fever and skin lesions and is spread by skin-to-skin contact.
World Vision has said that of the 7851 cases in the DRC, 39 per cent of these were under-fives; 240 children have died so far.
The National Director of World Vision DRC, Aline Napon, said: “Children are particularly vulnerable to mpox, especially in low- and middle-income countries, including those suffering humanitarian crises and where health and social services are weak or non-existent.
“Children are especially at risk where they are living in refugee camps, overcrowded urban settlements, and where malnutrition, a lack of clean water and sanitation, and poor health services exist.
“World Vision’s experience in tackling Ebola and Covid in humanitarian situations tells us that there is no time to waste. People in DR Congo and other impacted countries need immediate free treatment for mpox.”
A limited number of cases have been identified in Europe, but these have been linked to travel to affected areas in Africa. Mpox “is not the new Covid”, the WHO says, because it knows how to control the disease.
A WHO spokesman, Tarik Jašarević, said that the organisation was not recommending the use of masks. “We are not recommending mass vaccination. We are recommending the use of vaccines in outbreak settings for the groups who are most at risk.”
No cases of the new variant have been reported in the UK to date. Ministers from the Department of Heath and the Foreign Office met the Chief Medical Officer, Sir Chris Whitty, on Monday, to discuss the UK’s preparedness to deal with an outbreak.
An initial outbreak of a previous variant was recorded in the UK in 2022. It was controlled through the vaccination of the most at-risk group, identified as men who had sex with men.
Churches in affected areas of Africa are on high alert and are waiting for government and WHO guidance, the World Council of Churches says.
“It is a concern for us as the faith sector. We are looking to Africa CDC and the World Health Organization to provide us with a direction,” the chief executive officer of the Africa Christian Health Associations Platform, Dr Nkatha Njeru, said.