As the Democratic Republic of the Congo launches a vaccination campaign amid an outbreak of the sometimes deadly Mpox disease, we highlight how the virus has evolved.
Several epidemics of monkeypox have occurred, especially in Africa, since it first appeared in humans in 1970.
The disease, originally called monkeypox, is spread through close physical contact with infected people or animals, causing fever, muscle aches and painful skin lesions.
It was first discovered in a monkey in 1958, and is related to the deadly smallpox virus, but less dangerous, which was eradicated in 1980.
The World Health Organization said in November 2022 that it should be called Mpox, which it considers less stigmatizing.
1970…the first case
The disease was first discovered in humans in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, then known as Zaire, in 1970, according to the World Health Organization.
There are two subtypes of the virus, “clade 1” and “clade 2”, (clade 1) and (clade 2).
For decades, there have been sporadic cases of clade 1 in the Congo Basin of central Africa, and clade 2 in parts of western Africa.
2003.. The first outbreak outside Africa
In June 2003, the disease appeared for the first time outside Africa, in the United States.
It is believed to have spread after rodents, imported to the United States from Ghana, infected prairie dogs.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the United States announced 87 cases, 20 of which have been confirmed, but no deaths.
2017.. an epidemic in Nigeria
The World Health Organization reported that 2017 saw a major outbreak in Nigeria, with more than 200 confirmed cases, 500 suspected cases, and a mortality rate of about 3%.
Over the next five years, sporadic cases were reported around the world among travelers arriving from Nigeria, especially in Britain, Israel, Singapore and the United States.
May 2022.. Increase outside Africa
Since May 2022, type 2 has spread around the world, mainly affecting gay and bisexual men in Europe and the United States.
Type 2 appears to spread mainly through close and prolonged contact, especially sexual intercourse, among people with many partners who are most at risk.
In July 2022, the World Health Organization declared a Public Health Emergency of International Concern – the highest alert level.
Vaccination and awareness campaigns in many countries helped reduce the number of cases around the world, and the World Health Organization lifted this state of emergency in May 2023 after reporting 140 deaths out of approximately 87,400 cases.
2024.. A new global alert
In 2024 a new two-pronged epidemic emerged mainly in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
In addition to strain 1, which primarily affects children, a new strain has emerged in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, called strain B1. Cases of the B1 strain have also been recorded in neighboring Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda – none of which had previously been detected (mpox).
The World Health Organization declared another international emergency in mid-August.
The Democratic Republic of the Congo is at the epicenter of the Imbox outbreak and has recorded more than 30,000 cases, in addition to 988 deaths, since January, according to the Minister of Health.
According to the African Union’s health watchdog, the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, some 34,297 cases of infection, of all strains, have been recorded in 16 countries across the continent since January.
A first vaccination campaign began on September 17 in Rwanda targeting people at high risk.
In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, a targeted vaccination campaign began on 5 October. The country has received 265,000 doses of vaccines from the European Union and the United States. Washington plans to donate one million doses to African countries.