Leading health agency states the spread of Mpox to additional regions is very concerning.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared the ongoing mpox outbreak in Africa a global health emergency. The announcement follows the rapid spread of a more lethal strain of the virus, clade Ib, which has now surfaced in four new countries. Previously, this dangerous variant had been confined to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus delivered the news, stating ts recent spread to other regions is alarming.
Following a meeting of the minds, Tedros made it official, declaring a public health emergency of international concern – PHEIC – a labeling the highest level of alarm under international health law. He said, “The detection and rapid spread of a new clade of mpox in eastern DRC, its detection in neighboring countries that had not previously reported mpox, and the potential for further spread within Africa and beyond is very worrying. The emergency committee met and advised me that the situation constitutes a public health emergency of international concern. I have accepted that advice.”
This designation of a PHEIC is reserved for “extraordinary events” that pose a significant risk to other countries due to the international spread of disease. Such declarations often necessitate a coordinated international response to contain the outbreak and mitigate further damage.
Dimie Ogoina, Chair of the emergency committee, added, “The current outbreak of mpox in Africa is just the tip of the iceberg. We are not recognizing, or we don’t have the full picture of, this burden of mpox.”
The Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) echoed this, having already declared the outbreak a public health emergency of continental security – the first such declaration since the agency’s inception in 2017.
As of now, over 17,000 mpox cases and more than 500 deaths have been reported across 13 African countries. The DRC alone accounts for over 14,000 of these cases, highlighting the severe impact of the virus in the region. The Africa CDC has classified the outbreak as a “very high-risk event,” demanding immediate and sustained international intervention.
Mpox (monkeypox) is a viral disease that was first identified in the 1950s when outbreaks occurred in laboratory monkeys, though it is usually spread by rodents in West and Central Africa. The virus belongs to the same family as smallpox but is generally less severe. Human cases of Mpox were first reported in the 1970s, with transmission typically happening through close contact with infected animals or humans, including exposure to bodily fluids, skin lesions, and respiratory droplets, much like SARS-CoV-2.
Symptoms of Mpox can include fever, headaches, muscle aches, swollen lymph nodes, and a rash that evolves into fluid-filled pustules before scabbing over. While most people recover within a few weeks, more vulnerable groups, including young children, pregnant women, and individuals with weakened immune systems, are at higher risk for severe complications. Antivirals like tecovirimat are used in severe cases, but generally, the virus simply dissipates over time.
The mpox virus is categorized into two main genetic clades, I and II, with clade I being further divided into Ia and Ib.
“We are not dealing with one outbreak of one clade; we are dealing with several outbreaks of different clades in different countries with different modes of transmission and different levels of risk,” Tedros said.
Sources:
WHO Director-General declares mpox outbreak a public health emergency of international concern
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