WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - The World Health Organization has declared the mpox outbreak a public health emergency of international concern.
WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus made the declaration after assessing that the upsurge of mpox in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and a growing number of African countries constitutes a public health emergency of international concern under WHO's International Health Regulations.
Dr Tedros's declaration came on the advice of an IHR Emergency Committee of independent experts who met Wednesday to review data presented by experts from WHO and affected countries. The Committee informed the Director-General that it considers the upsurge of mpox to be a public health emergency of international concern, with potential to spread further across countries in Africa and possibly outside the continent.
'The emergence of a new clade of mpox, its rapid spread in eastern DRC, and the reporting of cases in several neighboring countries are very worrying. On top of outbreaks of other mpox clades in DRC and other countries in Africa, it's clear that a coordinated international response is needed to stop these outbreaks and save lives,' said the WHO chief.
WHO Regional Director for Africa Dr Matshidiso Moeti said its country teams working on the frontlines to help reinforce measures to curb mpox.
Committee Chair Professor Dimie Ogoina said, 'The current upsurge of mpox in parts of Africa, along with the spread of a new sexually transmissible strain of the monkeypox virus, is an emergency, not only for Africa, but for the entire globe. Mpox, originating in Africa, was neglected there, and later caused a global outbreak in 2022. It is time to act decisively to prevent history from repeating itself.'
This is the second time in two years that WHO is declaring mpox, also known as monkeypox, a global health emergency.
The number of cases reported so far this year in DR Congo has exceeded last year's total, with more than 15600 cases and 537 deaths.
The emergence last year and rapid spread of a new virus strain in DRC, clade 1b, which appears to be spreading mainly through sexual networks, and its detection in countries neighboring the DRC is especially concerning, the UN health agency said in a press release.
More than 100 mpox cases have been reported in four countries in the region: Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda.
Two vaccines are currently recommended for use for mpox by WHO.
WHO said it has released $ 1.45 million from the Contingency Fund for Emergencies and appealed to donors to fund the full extent of needs of the mpox response.
The monkeypox virus is an orthopoxvirus that causes mpox, a highly contagious disease with symptoms similar to smallpox, although less severe.
The disease is transmitted from animals to humans, with cases often found close to tropical rain forests.
It can also spread from humans to humans through close contact, such as sex, skin-to-skin contact and talking or breathing close to another person.
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