WHO declares mpox outbreak in Africa a global health emergency

The World Health Organisation on Wednesday declared a public health emergency of international concern for the current mpox outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and neighbouring countries.

It is the second time the global health agency has issued an emergency on the virus in two years, after an outbreak spread in non-endemic countries in the West in 2022.

“Today, the emergency committee met and advised me that, in its view, the situation constitutes a public health emergency of international concern. I have accepted that advice,” WHO director general Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said.

He said the organisation has recorded more than 14,000 cases and 524 deaths this year.

“The detection and rapid spread of a new clade of mpox in eastern DRC, its detection in neighbouring countries that had not previously reported mpox and the potential for further spread within Africa and beyond is very worrying,” Dr Tedros said.

The current outbreak is centred around the DRC, where cases have "increased significantly" since the global spread across more than 100 countries in 2022.

There were more than 100,000 cases recorded and vaccine programmes were introduced. The declaration of public concern ended in 2023.

The current outbreak could be more of a threat because of a more transmissible and deadlier mpox clade 1, and its new mutated variant called clade 1b.

The WHO's decision follows a continental health emergency declared by the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention on Tuesday.

The declaration of a public health emergency of international concern is the highest level of alarm the WHO can issue, and it opens up funding and other resources to help health authorities contain the virus.

The emergency committee said it was concerned that mpox could "spread beyond Africa to other regions of the world", chair Dimie Ogoina said during the briefing.

He said the committee will soon issue recommendations on next steps.

“It's clear that a co-ordinated international response is essential to stop these outbreaks and save lives,” Dr Tedros said.

He announced that the agency has released $1.5 million from the contingency fund for emergencies and called on global partners to contribute.

Dr Tedros said the WHO is "on the ground working with the affected countries and others at risk".

Mpox, formerly known as monkeypox, spreads through close contact and sexual activity, as well as by interacting with items used by an infected person.

The viral infection causes flu-like symptoms and sometimes painful, pus-filled body lesions. It can be treated with antiviral medication and prevented through a two-dose vaccine regimen.

However, African countries where the virus is endemic have not had enough access to the vaccine.