WHO declares global health emergency over Mpox outbreak

United Nations: The World Health Organisation (WHO) on Wednesday declared a global health emergency as Mpox, previously known as monkeypox, spreads rapidly across 13 African countries, including Congo, where 14,000 cases and 524 deaths have been reported.

This marks the second time in three years that Mpox has reached emergency status.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a media briefing, following the IHR Emergency Committee meeting on the upsurge of mpox.

WHO has been working on the mpox outbreak in Africa and raising the alarm that this is something that should concern us all, he added.

"Last week I announced that I was convening an Emergency Committee under the International Health Regulations to evaluate the upsurge of mpox in Congo and other countries in Africa," the WHO Director-General said in a statement.

"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."

The detection and rapid spread of a new clade of mpox in eastern Congo, its detection in neighbouring countries that had not previously reported mpox, and the potential for further spread within Africa and beyond is very worrying, he added.

In addition to other outbreaks of other clades of mpox in other parts of Africa, it's clear that a coordinated international response is essential to stop these outbreaks and save lives, the WHO Director-General said.

A public health emergency of international concern is the highest level of alarm under international health law.

"The Emergency Committee's advice to me, and that of the African Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, which on Tuesday declared a public health emergency of regional security, are aligned."

"WHO is on the ground, working with the affected countries, and others at risk, through our country and regional offices, as well as with partners, including the Africa CDC, NGOs, civil society, among others."

"For example, we are providing machines to analyse blood samples and confirm cases of mpox; we're supporting laboratories to sequence viral samples; we're on the ground supporting case investigation and contact tracing, risk communication and community engagement; we're training health workers and supporting clinicians to provide appropriate care; we're supporting countries to access vaccines and develop the strategies to roll them out."

To fund this work, WHO has developed a regional response plan, requiring an initial $15 million, Ghebreyesus said.

"We have released about $1.5 million from the WHO Contingency Fund for Emergencies, and we plan to release more in the coming days. We are also appealing to donors to fund the rest of the response plan."

WHO is committed in the days and weeks ahead to coordinate the global response, working closely with each of the affected countries, and leveraging our on-the-ground presence, to prevent transmission, treat those infected, and save lives, the Director-General added.

"I thank the Emergency Committee for its work and advice, and I would like to give the floor to Professor Dimie Ogoina, the Chair of the Emergency Committee, to summarise the Committee's considerations."

Mpox has been reported in Congo for more than a decade, and the number of cases reported each year has increased steadily over that period.

Last year, reported cases increased significantly, and already the number of cases reported so far this year has exceeded last year's total, with more than 14 000 cases and 524 deaths.

A different form of the mpox virus – clade IIb – spread globally in 2022, largely through sexual contact among men who have sex with men.

The WHO declared a public health emergency which lasted from July 2022 to May 2023. The outbreak, which has now largely subsided, caused some 140 deaths out of about 90,000 cases.

Amid the most recent outbreak, the Red Cross has said it was scaling up preparedness measures across Africa, particularly in eastern Congo.

The International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies voiced "profound concern" about the spread of the virus.

The WHO pledged to "play a crucial role in containing the spread of the disease, even in the hard-to-reach areas where the need is the greatest".