Given the situation and the potential for further international spread within and beyond Africa, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has convened an Emergency Committee to advise him on whether the outbreak constitutes a public health emergency of international importance.
This warning level is the highest warning level of the UN agency.
“The committee will meet as soon as possible and will include independent experts from a wide range of relevant fields around the world,” he said in Geneva.
Spread and symptoms of Mpox
Mpox – formerly monkeypox – is a viral disease endemic in Central and West Africa. It can be transmitted through physical contact with infected people, animals, or contaminated materials.
Symptoms include a rash or skin lesions, accompanied by fever, headache, muscle aches, back pain, low energy, and swollen lymph nodes.
Mpox came to global prominence two years ago after cases emerged around the world amid COVID-19 pandemic. The outbreak was declared a public health emergency of international importance in July 2022 and ended in May the following year.
Severe outbreak in DRC
Tedros said the DRC has experienced a severe outbreak of mpox since the beginning of the year. More than 14,000 cases and 511 deaths have been reported.
Although outbreaks have been reported in the country for decades and the number of cases reported each year has steadily increased, the number of cases in the first six months of this year has already equaled the total number of cases in all of 2023.
Neighboring countries affected
“Over the past month, about 50 confirmed cases and many more suspected cases have been reported in four previously unreported neighboring countries of the DRC: Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda,” he said.
Tedros explained that mpox outbreaks are caused by many different types of viruses called groups.
Cluster 1 has been circulating in the DRC for many years, while cluster 2 is responsible for the global outbreak that began in 2022.
The current outbreak in eastern DRC is caused by a new branch of group 1, called group 1b, which causes more severe disease than group 2.
This has been confirmed in Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda, while the Burundi branch is still being analyzed.
“At the same time, cases of group 1a have been reported this year in the DRC, the Central African Republic and the Republic of Congo, while group 2 cases have been reported in Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Liberia, Nigeria and South Africa,” Tedros said.
Increase understanding and support
WHO is working with governments of affected countries, the Africa Centre for Disease Control, non-governmental organizations, civil society and other partners to understand and address the causes of these outbreaks.
Tedros stressed that stopping the spread will require a comprehensive, community-centered response.
WHO has also developed a $15 million regional response plan to support surveillance, preparedness and response. In addition, WHO has released $1 million from its emergency fund to support the scale-up of the response, with more to follow.
Currently, two mpox vaccines have been approved by WHO-recognized national regulatory authorities and have been recommended for use by the expert group on immunization, SAGE.
“I have triggered the process to place both vaccines on Emergency Use Listing, which will accelerate access to vaccines, particularly for low-income countries that have yet to issue their own national regulatory approvals,” he said.
Emergency use listing means the global vaccine alliance, Gavi and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) will be able to purchase doses for distribution.
The partners are also members of a global mechanism to ensure COVID-19 vaccine equity, known as the COVAX.
