WHO Declares Mpox a Public Health Emergency as New Strain Emerges 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 mentioned that the Emergency Committee had convened and determined the situation warranted the declaration of a PHEIC. This classification is significant and has previously been applied during the COVID-19 pandemic and a prior mpox outbreak in 2022.

Mpox, while endemic to regions in Central and Western Africa, has seen a troubling uptick in cases, particularly in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). According to WHO reports, over 14,000 mpox cases and 524 related deaths have been reported in the DRC this year alone.

There are two primary types of mpox: clade I and clade II. Clade refers to groups that share a common ancestor. Clade I has historically caused localized outbreaks in the DRC, but researchers have recently identified a variant known as clade Ib. This variant appears to spread primarily through sexual contact and is believed to be behind the current surge in cases in the DRC.

During the briefing, Dr. Tedros highlighted concerns about the detection of clade Ib in neighboring countries such as Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, and Uganda—nations that had not previously reported mpox cases. This alarming spread prompted him to gather the WHO’s emergency committee for further assessment.

“The detection and rapid spread of a new clade of mpox in eastern DRC, as well as its presence in neighboring countries that have yet to experience mpox outbreaks, is very concerning,” Dr. Tedros stated.

In a related development, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), the leading health agency on the continent, declared mpox a public health emergency of continental security (PHECS). This marks the first such declaration since the agency was established in 2017.

On the same day, the WHO released a report indicating a total of 934 newly confirmed mpox cases and four deaths across 26 countries in June alone, demonstrating ongoing global transmission of the virus.

In the United States, there have been 1,594 reported cases of mpox this year, as per data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). This figure more than doubles the number of cases reported at this same time last year, though it remains significantly lower than the numbers observed during the U.S. mpox outbreak in 2022.

It is important to note that no cases of clade I mpox have been reported outside Central and Eastern Africa, including the U.S. The CDC has indicated that the risk posed by the variant currently circulating in the DRC is low for the American public at this time.

The JYNNEOS vaccine, which requires two doses and is approved by the Food and Drug Administration to prevent both smallpox and mpox, is currently the only vaccine authorized in the U.S. for mpox prevention. Data from Africa suggests that administering two doses of JYNNEOS can be at least 85% effective in preventing mpox infections.