WHO declares mpox outbreaks in Africa a global health emergency

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The upsurge of mpox in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and a growing number of countries in Africa has been determined by the WHO director-general, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, to constitute a Public Health Emergency of International Concern under the International Health Regulations (IHR).

Ghebreyesus’ declaration came on the advice of an IHR emergency committee of independent experts who met on Wednesday, 14 August, 2024 to review data presented by experts from the WHO and affected countries.

A Pheic is the highest alert level under international health law.

“The emergence of a new clade of mpox, its rapid spread in eastern DRC, and the reporting of cases in several neighbouring countries are very worrying. On top of outbreaks of other mpox clades in DRC and other countries in Africa, it’s clear that a co-ordinated international response is needed to stop these outbreaks and save lives,” Ghebreyesus said.

WHO regional director for Africa, Matshidiso Moeti, said significant efforts are already underway in close collaboration with communities and governments, with country teams working on the frontlines to help reinforce measures to curb mpox.

"With the growing spread of the virus, we’re scaling up further through co-ordinated international action to support countries in bringing the outbreaks to an end,” she said.

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Committee chair, Dimie Ogoina, indicated that the current upsurge of mpox in parts of Africa, along with the spread of a new sexually transmissible strain of the mpox virus, is an emergency, not only for Africa but for the entire globe.

“Mpox, originating in Africa, was neglected there, and later caused a global outbreak in 2022. It is time to act decisively to prevent history from repeating itself.”

According to the WHO, the multi-country outbreak of Mpox was declared a Pheic in 2022 after it spread rapidly via sexual contact across a range of countries where the virus had not been seen before.

That Pheic was declared over in May 2023 after there had been a sustained decline in global cases. Meanwhile, mpox has been reported in the DRC for more than a decade, and the number of cases reported each year has increased steadily over that period.

Last year, the WHO said reported cases increased significantly, and already the number of cases reported so far this year has exceeded last year’s total, with more than 15,600 cases and 537 deaths.

“The emergence last year and rapid spread of a new virus strain in DRC, clade 1b, which appears to be spreading mainly through sexual networks, and its detection in countries neighbouring the DRC is especially concerning, and one of the main reasons for the declaration of the Pheic,” the WHO said.

In South Africa, the total number of cases stands at 24, of which 12 were reported in Gauteng, 11 in KwaZulu-Natal and one in the Western Cape and three deaths.

Vaccine donation

The WHO announced it was working with countries and vaccine manufacturers on potential vaccine donations and co-ordinating with partners through the interim Medical Countermeasures Network to facilitate equitable access to vaccines, therapeutics, diagnostics and other tools.

The WHO said it anticipates an immediate funding requirement of an initial $15m to support surveillance, preparedness and response activities.

To allow for an immediate scale-up, the WHO said it has released $1.45m from the WHO Contingency Fund for Emergencies and may need to release more in the coming days.

“The organisation appeals to donors to fund the full extent of needs of the mpox response.”