The World Health Organization (WHO) declared an emergency approval on Friday for the first diagnostic test for mpox. According to the African Union’s disease control center, over 800 fatalities have been reported as a result of the disease, which has officially been identified in 16 African nations.
A newly validated test named Alinity m MPXV assay is a product by Abbott Molecular Inc. It would serve to detect the virus mpox from swab samples taken from lesions affecting humans, thus helping health professionals confirm such cases promptly and correctly.
According to WHO, “the authorization for emergency use will be crucial in the expansion of diagnostic capacity in countries where outbreaks of mpox have been reported, and the need for rapid and accurate testing has considerably increased.
It explained that there remain limited testing facilities and delayed confirmation of cases, which are progressing to hinder efforts focused on curtailing the spread of the virus in Africa. The approval provided much-needed impetus to improving testing capacities in the affected regions.
WHO assistant director-general Yukiko Nakatani added, “Expanding access to quality-assured medical products is at the heart of our efforts in supporting countries in controlling the virus spread and safeguarding their citizens, especially in resource-poor areas.”
Mpox, as earlier known as monkeypox, is caused by a viral agent that is transmitted directly from infected animals to humans while it can also spread between persons through close contact. The disease involves fever, muscle aches, and large boil-like skin lesions that in some cases are fatal.
That should lead to improved diagnostic efforts and ultimately calm the raging outbreaks occurring in Africa, where health systems are visibly buckling under the pressure of increasing mpox infections.
