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Less than 24 hours after the World Health Organisation declared monkeypox a global public health emergency, the first case has been detected outside Africa. The Democratic Republic of Congo has been battling a new variant of the virus for several months: the DRC government says the disease has killed 548 people since the start of the year, from more than 15,000 cases. As well as reaching bordering countries, it’s now in Europe. Sweden has recorded the virus in a person infected while visiting an area where there is a major outbreak. The WHO says mpox is chiefly spread through sexual contact, but the US Centers for Disease Control warn that it can spread to anyone through contact with objects, fabrics, and surfaces that haven’t been disinfected after use.
Symptoms include skin rash or pus-filled lesions which can last two to four weeks. It also can cause fever, headaches, muscle aches, back pain, low energy and swollen lymph nodes. Ebola it’s not, but it can kill too. Note on coverage: this week’s Foreign Affairs cover story is headlined ‘The World Is Not Ready For the Next Pandemic.”
