HEALTH chiefs are poised to declare an international public health emergency as an ultra-deadly strain of mpox that can spread by touch starts to cross borders. The strain has been discovered in two new countries in recent weeks after cases have been surging in the Democratic Republic of Congo ( DRC ) for months . Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, from the World Health Organisation (WHO), wrote on X on Wednesday that experts are worried the mutant bug has "potential for further international spread within and outside of Africa.
" He added: “I am considering convening an International Health Regulations emergency committee to advise me on whether the outbreak of mpox should be declared a public health emergency of international concern." Mpox is a viral infection that causes flu-like symptoms and pus-filled lesions. And until a few years ago most cases of it were reported in central and west Africa.
But in 2022, the WHO declared a public health emergency, when a strain of mpox called clade 2 triggered the global outbreak that reached over 100 countries - including the UK. The DRC has been battling with it's own variant, called “clade 1a” for decades. This version is more deadly, with a fatality rate of around five per cent in adults and 10 per cent in children, compared to three per cent for its predecessor.
In April, alarm bells were raised when scientists found a new easier-to-catch strain of mpox with “pandemic potential” in Kamituga , a small mining town in the DRC. .