A public health emergency has been declared by the World Health Organisation (WHO) over a new outbreak of mpox in several African nations. Also known as monkeypox , the disease has seen an upsurge in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) with confirmed cases reaching countries across the African subcontinent. More than 17,000 cases have now been confirmed across Africa , with the WHO saying the outbreak is of “international concern”.
The public health emergency was declared by the group’s director general, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. The outbreak comes as a new strain is identified, named clade 1b, said to be spreading mainly through sexual networks. WHO says it has been identified in Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda – all countries that have never reported cases of mpox before.
Dr Tedros said: “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.” The organisation is working with nations worldwide to coordinate accelerated vaccine access and containment measures.
They say an initial sum of 15 million dollars will be required for an effective response. Responding to the outbreak, the US government said the risk to the general public is “very low” with no cases of clade I repo.