Geneva, Switzerland (AFP) – World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus announced on Sunday that he is considering convening an emergency committee to determine whether the increasing mpox outbreak in Africa should be declared an international public health emergency.
Since last September, there has been a significant surge in mpox cases in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), where a new strain of the virus has also been identified in neighboring African countries. The sudden escalation has prompted the WHO, in collaboration with the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, local governments, and global partners, to intensify their efforts in managing the outbreak.
“More funding and support for a comprehensive response are urgently needed,” Tedros emphasized on social media platform X. He also indicated that he might convene an International Health Regulations (IHR) emergency committee to advise him on whether the outbreak merits a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC)—the highest level of alert the WHO can issue.
A PHEIC declaration allows the WHO to coordinate international response efforts and mobilize resources to contain the outbreak. Tedros, in a statement to the journal Science, stressed the importance of heightened public health measures such as surveillance, community engagement, treatment, and the targeted use of vaccines for those at higher risk of infection.
Mpox, formerly known as monkeypox, is a zoonotic infectious disease caused by a virus transmitted to humans through contact with infected animals. Human-to-human transmission can occur through close physical contact. Initially discovered in 1970 in the DRC, the disease manifests through fever, muscle aches, and large boil-like skin lesions.
There are two main subtypes of the mpox virus: Clade I, which is more virulent and predominantly found in Central Africa, and Clade II, endemic to West Africa. The Clade IIb subclade, noted for causing a global surge of infections primarily affecting gay and bisexual men in May 2022, led the WHO to declare a PHEIC from July 2022 to May 2023. This outbreak has since subsided.
However, from September 2023 onwards, a different strain, the Clade Ib subclade, has caused an alarming rise in cases in the DRC. By July 11, Tedros reported over 11,000 cases, including 445 deaths, with children being the most severely impacted demographic.
In response, the African Union (AU) announced on Friday the urgent allocation of $10.4 million from COVID-19 funds to support the Africa CDC’s initiatives in combating the mpox outbreak across the continent. The funds aim to bolster monitoring, laboratory testing, regional and national data collection, case management, and vaccine distribution.
Neighboring countries are also witnessing the spread of the virus. Burundi reported three cases, Kenya registered one case, and Uganda announced two new cases on Saturday, with infections traced back to the DRC.
The IHR provides a legal framework for managing public health events that have the potential to cross borders, stipulating countries’ rights and obligations. Under this regulation, the WHO director-general can declare a PHEIC, leading to emergency responses as mandated by the IHR, which are binding for 196 countries.
Since 2009, a PHEIC has been declared only seven times, including for H1N1 swine flu, poliovirus, Ebola outbreaks, Zika virus, COVID-19, and mpox.
As the situation evolves, the international health community watches closely, preparing for the potential declaration of a new global health emergency.
