The disease, formerly known as monkeypox, has spread rapidly across Central and East Africa since the start of the year. The initial outbreak was in the Democratic Republic of Congo, which has now registered 15,600 cases since the start of the year and more than 500 deaths.

這種疾病以前被稱為猴痘，自今年年初以來在中非和東非迅速蔓延。最初的疫情爆發在剛果民主共和國，自今年年初以來，該國已出現 15 600 例病例，500 多人死亡。

Health officials say the new strain of Mpox may be the most deadly yet.

衛生官員說，新的痘病毒菌株可能是迄今為止最致命的。

Joe Inwood reports. It starts with flu-like symptoms and ends with this.

喬-因伍德報道。它以類似流感的症狀開始，以這個結束。

This is what Mpox, which used to be called monkeypox, can do.

這就是以前被稱為猴痘的 Mpox 的作用。

Here in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the virus is common, but it's spreading.

在剛果民主共和國，這種病毒很常見，但正在蔓延。

It's transmitted by physical contact or through the air. Five-year-old Sandrine has now recovered, but it was a terrifying moment for her mum.

它通過身體接觸或空氣傳播。五歲的桑德琳現已康復，但這對她的媽媽來說卻是一個可怕的時刻。

She had a high fever, and then she started to get lesions on her body.

她發高燒，然後身上開始出現病變。

She had rashes on her arms, on her abdomen, and even on her tongue.

她的手臂、腹部甚至舌頭上都長了疹子。

I'd been told it was a serious illness that could kill her, so I took her to the hospital. Although it can be sexually transmitted, in the crowded camps of the Eastern DRC, most of the patients are children.

有人告訴我這是一種嚴重的疾病，可能會要了她的命，所以我帶她去了醫院。雖然這種病可以通過性傳播，但在剛果（金）東部擁擠的難民營裡，大多數患者都是兒童。

So far, we have 130 suspected cases, and half of them under five.

到目前為止，我們已發現 130 個疑似病例，其中一半在 5 歲以下。

Just 5% are adults.

成年人僅佔 5%。

The most common way to get infected is direct contact from a sick person, and in the camps, children, they play together. The latest outbreak has killed 450 people in the DRC.

最常見的感染途徑是直接接觸病人，而在營地裡，孩子們在一起玩耍。最近的疫情已在剛果民主共和國造成 450 人死亡。

It seems a new variant, called PLAID-1B, is more virulent and more dangerous, and it's now been detected in neighboring countries, including Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda, and the Central African Republic.

一種名為 PLAID-1B 的新變種似乎毒性更強、更危險，目前已在布隆迪、肯亞、盧旺達、烏干達和中非共和國等鄰國被檢測到。

And so the World Health Organization has declared a global health emergency.

是以，世界衛生組織宣佈全球進入衛生緊急狀態。

It's clear that a coordinated international response is essential to stop these outbreaks and save lives. A public health emergency of international concern is the highest level of alarm under international health law.

顯然，要制止這些疾病的爆發並拯救生命，必須採取協調一致的國際應對措施。國際關注的突發公共衛生事件是國際衛生法規定的最高級別警報。

It is possible to vaccinate against Mpox, as happened in previous outbreaks, but these vaccines are not widely available in the DRC, where these children had to rely on their immune systems.

接種麻風腮疫苗是有可能的，就像以前的疫情一樣，但這些疫苗在剛果（金）並不普及，這些兒童只能依靠自己的免疫系統。

The WHO is warning if more is not done to stop the spread of this new variant, there could be serious consequences on these camps. Joe Inwood, BBC News.

世衛組織警告說，如果不採取更多措施阻止這種新變種的傳播，可能會給這些營地帶來嚴重後果。喬-英伍德（Joe Inwood），英國廣播公司新聞。