Mpox Is a Global Health Emergency, WHO Declares

The viral disease mpox, formerly known as monkeypox, has become a worldwide threat once again. On Wednesday afternoon, the World Health Organization declared a public health emergency of international concern, or PHEIC, over mpox, citing a resurgence of cases across Africa and the emergence of a new, deadlier variant of the virus.

Mpox has long been considered a zoonotic disease, one that primarily spreads from animals (likely rodents, not monkeys) to humans. But that changed in early 2022, when the virus began to cause widespread human-to-human outbreaks outside Africa. These outbreaks spanned the globe, with more than 90,000 cases in over 100 countries documented.

The virus can spread through any kind of direct contact. But during these large outbreaks, it’s largely transmitted sexually between gay and bisexual men. Thankfully, the strains that spread belonged to less fatal lineages of the virus, with only around 150 deaths attributed to the 2022 epidemic.

Vaccination and awareness campaigns in high-risk communities have helped drive down cases of mpox since 2022, but experts have warned that the virus could continue to cause outbreaks or mutate further to become more dangerous—possibilities that have since become reality.

This year, there have been more than 14,000 reported cases and 524 deaths tied to mpox, according to the Associated Press. These cases and deaths have been found in 13 countries, though most have been concentrated in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. A new, more lethal variant of mpox appears to be driving these outbreaks, with a mortality rate hovering around 3 to 4%.

Last week, the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention declared a public emergency over the outbreaks. But while most of the danger has so far been confined to Africa, the WHO’s declaration signals that the rest of the world isn’t necessarily safe from mpox.

“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 coordinated international response is needed to stop these outbreaks and save lives.”” said WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus in the WHO’s announcement of the decision.