- Reuters
- 5 Hours ago
Mpox: WHO declares global health emergency
- DW
- Aug 15, 2024
GENEVA: The World Health Organisation (WHO) on Wednesday declared the spread of mpox to be a global public health emergency, the second time in two years it has categorised the virus as such.
Over 500 deaths have been recorded in central Africa as fears grow that mpox could spread beyond the continent. African health authorities have appealed for more vaccines.
Read more: Rapid spread of Mpox strain in Africa causes alarm
Mpox, which spreads through close contact and causes flu-like symptoms and pus-filled lesions on the skin, is usually mild. However, it can be fatal in rare cases.
A new version of the virus has emerged in the Democratic Republic of Congo, and has rapidly spread to neighboring countries including Rwanda, Burundi and the Central African Republic.
Cases are up 160 per cent and deaths are up 19 per cent compared with the same period last year.
WHO on highest alert level
With over 17,000 recorded cases so far claiming over 500 lives, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), the African Union’s health authority, declared the mpox outbreak to be an African public health emergency on Tuesday, and now the WHO has followed suit.
The declaration of a disease outbreak as a “public health emergency of international concern” or PHEIC — the WHO’s highest level of alert — is intended to accelerate research, funding and international public health measures and boost co-operation to contain the spread of a disease.
“It’s clear that a coordinated international response is essential to stop these outbreaks and save lives,” said WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, adding:
“This is something that should concern us all. The potential for further spread within Africa and beyond is very worrying.”
Millions more vaccines needed
Africa CDC chief Jean Kaseya said on Tuesday that only around 200,000 mpox vaccines are available on the African continent, but that over 10 million are needed.
He vowed that the body would work quickly to increase the vaccine supply.
The United States also said it was tracking the spread of the virus closely.
The WHO first declared mpox to be a global emergency in 2022 after it spread to more than 70 countries that had not previously reported the virus.
Read more: DR Congo detects at least 25 mpox cases in Goma
In that outbreak, fewer than one per cent of people died.
This year, officials at the Africa CDC say nearly 70 per cent of cases in Congo are in children younger than 15, who also accounted for 85 per cent of deaths.