WHO Declares Mpox a Public Health Emergency Amid New Strain in Africa

The World Health Organization (WHO) has officially declared mpox a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC). This announcement was made during a media briefing on Wednesday by WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

Dr. Tedros confirmed the decision was based on recommendations from the Emergency Committee. He noted, “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.”

In the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported 1,634 cases of mpox so far this year, which is more than double the number of cases reported at the same time last year. However, this figure is significantly lower than the numbers observed during the mpox outbreak in the United States in 2022.

PHEICs have been declared before for the COVID-19 pandemic and the earlier outbreak of mpox in 2022. Although mpox is endemic to Central and Western Africa, there has been a notable increase in cases in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). The WHO has reported over 14,000 mpox cases and 524 fatalities in the DRC this year alone.

Mpox exists in two types, known as clades I and II. Clade distinctions imply that the viruses are derived from a common ancestor. Clade I has caused sporadic outbreaks in the DRC over the years. Recent research has identified a variant of clade I, referred to as clade Ib, that predominantly spreads through sexual contact and is believed to be responsible for the ongoing outbreak in the DRC.

Dr. Tedros stated that the identification of clade Ib in neighboring countries, which have not previously reported any mpox cases, including Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, and Uganda, prompted the emergency committee meeting. He expressed concern about the potential implications, saying, “The detection and rapid spread of a new clade of mpox in eastern DRC, its detection in neighboring countries that had not previously reported mpox, and the potential for further spread within Africa and beyond is very worrying.”

In a related action, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) declared mpox a public health emergency of continental security (PHECS) on the same day. This marks the first such declaration since the establishment of the Africa CDC in 2017.

Furthermore, the WHO released a report noting that in June, there were 934 new laboratory-confirmed cases and four deaths from mpox across 26 countries, highlighting the ongoing transmission of the virus globally.

Currently, there have been no reports of clade I mpox outside Central and Eastern Africa, including the United States. The CDC has assessed the risk level for the American public regarding the mpox strain circulating in the DRC as low.

The JYNNEOS vaccine is the only vaccine approved by the Food and Drug Administration in the U.S. for preventing both smallpox and mpox. Evidence from Africa indicates that receiving both doses of the JYNNEOS vaccine provides at least an 85% effectiveness rate in preventing mpox infections.