Introduction

This article published in the editorial section of The Hindu Newspaper talks about the recent development in Africa where The World Health Organization has reclassified mpox as a global public health emergency amid a severe outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. This latest crisis involves a more dangerous virus strain and highlights critical vaccine shortages, with Africa facing delays in vaccine availability until late 2025.

Article Explanation

The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared mpox, formerly known as monkeypox, as a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC), marking the second time in two years that mpox has been classified as a global emergency. The outbreak began in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and has since spread to over a dozen African countries. This outbreak is more alarming due to the new and more dangerous strain of the virus, known as clade 1b, which spreads through both sexual and non-sexual contact and has caused significant harm, particularly in the DRC. There have been 2,863 confirmed cases and 517 deaths this year in the DRC alone, with around two-thirds of those infected being children under 15.

The WHO’s announcement comes shortly after the Africa CDC declared the outbreak a public health emergency of continental security (PHECS), marking the first time a disease outbreak has been simultaneously declared a health emergency at both regional and global levels. The current mpox outbreak differs from the 2022 outbreak, which occurred mainly in the U.K. and other countries and was caused by a less dangerous strain of the virus (clade 2b).

One of the biggest challenges in fighting this outbreak is the severe shortage of vaccines. Despite Africa being the epicentre of the outbreak, it has not received enough vaccines to contain the spread. Only the DRC and Nigeria have granted emergency use authorization for the vaccine, and only about 0.21 million doses are available immediately.

Regulatory hurdles further complicate the situation, with Africa facing a long wait for 10 million vaccine doses needed to control the outbreak until the end of 2025. Without sufficient vaccine coverage, the virus could continue to spread, affecting vulnerable groups like children. This delay is troubling because, without sufficient vaccine coverage, the virus could continue to spread, affecting even more people, particularly vulnerable groups like children.

In summary, the article highlights the gravity of the mpox outbreak in Africa, the challenges posed by a more dangerous virus strain, the urgent need for vaccines, and the slow global response in delivering aid to the continent.

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The Editorial Page of The Hindu is an essential reading for all the students aspiring for UPSC, SSC, PCS, Judiciary etc or any other competitive government exams.

This may also be useful for exams like CUET UG and CUET PG, GATE, GMAT, GRE AND CAT

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Read More-https://hellostudent.co.in/rahul-gandhi-vs-nirmala-sitharaman-the-hindu-editorial-explanation/