Mpox: interdependence and inequity

• Published in: The Lancet infectious diseases Vol. 23; no. 12; pp. 1335 - 1336
• Main Authors: Nakoune, Emmanuel, Yagata, Felicité Emma Moussa, Nimbona, Aimee, Belizaire, Marie-Roseline Darnycka, Boum, Yap
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Elsevier Limited 01-12-2023
• Subjects: Bacterial infections; Chicken pox; Community involvement; Community participation; Education; Epidemiology; Health problems; Health services; Health surveillance; High income; Human beings; Humans; Industrialized nations; Infections; Infectious diseases; Monkeypox; Mpox (monkeypox); Pandemics; Populations; Public awareness; Risk communication; Rural areas; Scientists; Surveillance; Vaccination; Vaccines; Nigeria; Africa; Central African Republic
• ISSN: 1473-3099; 1474-4457
• DOI: 10.1016/S1473-3099(23)00487-5

The concept of Ubuntu, which originated in South Africa, implies the interdependence of human beings and can be captured by the phrase: I am because you are.1 Mpox (formerly known as monkeypox) has reached high-income countries after it emerged in central Africa; indeed, with the increase in international travel, cases of mpox have been reported outside Africa in recent years, leading to the recent pandemic that caused 88 122 infections and 148 deaths worldwide.2 However, there is little published information on what has happened to mpox in African countries, or whether these patients have received the care they deserve as human beings. According to this Article and others from affected countries including the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Central African Republic, and Cameroon, the main challenges of mpox are surveillance and diagnosis, low awareness and education, insufficient health-care infrastructure in rural areas where mpox cases occur, high-risk populations, and low vaccination coverage.5,6 To address these challenges, it is essential to strengthen disease surveillance; improve laboratory capacity; intensify risk communication and community engagement, education, and public awareness campaigns; and ensure access to appropriate health services in affected areas. The study was done by Nigerian scientists and sends an important message to African leaders to invest more in research, in line with the Abuja Declaration.7 This investment will help African scientists to strengthen subregional collaborations to enhance cross-border epidemic control, optimise the collection and analysis of epidemiological data, understand the patterns and characteristics of different pathogens within their populations, and therefore find local solutions to the continent's health problems, rather than adopting one approach to suit all, which doesn’t work in most cases.8 A final lesson from the mpox pandemic is that infectious diseases are everyone's concern no matter where they arise.