Monkeypox outbreak needs a united response, says WHO Africa

ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — Africa must be part of a united global fight against monkeypox, the World Health Organization's Africa office said Thursday, as countries in Europe, the U.S. and elsewhere respond to unusual outbreaks of the disease.

“We must have one connected global response to monkeypox to avoid it becoming endemic in more countries,” Dr. Matshidiso Moeti, WHO Africa director, said in an online briefing.

As countries in the developed world find ways to limit the spread of monkeypox, “it is very important that ... we make sure that we share those tools, we build capacities all over the world to respond to these outbreaks,” she said.

“What is extremely important now is to avert any potential for a repeat of the inequitable access to COVID-19 vaccines experienced by African countries early in the pandemic,” Moeti said.

Monkeypox is ordinarily found in countries in West and Central Africa with tropical rainforests but recently the disease has been discovered in more than 20 countries including Britain, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Switzerland, the United States, Israel and Australia. More than 500 cases have been reported, many apparently tied to sexual activity at two recent raves in Europe. No deaths have been reported.

So far, sequencing has not yet shown any direct link to the outbreak outside Africa, health officials say.

Meanwhile, seven of Africa's 54 countries have reported the disease and there have been about three times as many monkeypox cases as usual.

There have been more than 1,400 suspected monkeypox cases and 63 deaths in African countries where the disease is endemic — Cameroon, Central African Republic, Congo and Nigeria — according to the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

But only 44 of those suspected cases have been confirmed,...