GENEVA (AN) — For the second time in three years, the World Health Organization finds the mpox outbreaks in Congo and other African nations represent a global health emergency, its highest level of alert.
What's new: Based on the advice of an emergency committee of experts, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on Wednesday declared mpox to be "a public health emergency of international concern" – a formal designation tied to the International Health Regulations. The move reflects the alarming spread of mpox, also known as monkeypox, among children and adults in more than a dozen countries.
A day earlier, Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention classified the mpox outbreak as a continental health emergency that warrants international cooperation. Lawrence Gostin, faculty director of Georgetown University's O'Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law, says WHO's decision "is historic because it is the first time a regional and global health emergency have both been declared. It is a moment to celebrate African empowerment and to call for global solidarity."
What's next: Tedros says the spread of a new variant of the virus, Clade 1b, in eastern Congo, its detection in neighboring countries that had not previously reported mpox, and the potential for further spread within Africa and beyond, is "very worrying.” Countries now have a legal duty to respond quickly and cooperate with cross-border public health measures, building on efforts to deal with the mpox global health emergency WHO declared from July 2022 to May 2023. Gostin says nations will "need to act urgently to protect people and prevent this outbreak from escalating into a pandemic" and a coordinated response by WHO and Africa CDC "must be rooted in equity and solidarity if we are going to contain this outbreak."
What's important: Nigerian mpox expert Dr. Dimie Ogoina, who chaired WHO's emergency committee, says they felt "it was unanimous that the current outbreak of mpox is an extraordinary event" – one of the criteria for making the declaration – though gaps remain in understanding how mpox spreads in Africa and stronger surveillance is needed to track the outbreaks. "Of course there is also the chance it could spread beyond Africa to other regions of the world," he says.
Who's involved: Africa CDC says mpox cases are up 160% and deaths rose 19% compared to the same period last year, and the disease is in 13 countries this year – with Congo hit by 96% of all cases and deaths. So far this year, at least 517 people have died, with more than 17,000 suspected cases across Africa, according to Africa CDC. Mpox spreads mainly through close contact, including sex, with infected people.
What's happening now: Mpox, endemic in parts of Africa, is now found in four East African countries – Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda – linked to the Congo outbreak involving a new and more dangerous variant.
