A surging mpox outbreak in Africa, which was declared an emergency by the continent's health agency on Tuesday, is being driven by a new, more transmissible strain of the virus. The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) declared its first-ever Public Health Emergency of Continental Security (PHECS) for the . World Health Organization experts are also set to meet on Wednesday to weigh sounding the UN agency's highest alarm.
If the WHO declares a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC), it would be the second time for mpox since the virus spread around the world in 2022. But the new outbreak, which has been crossing borders from its epicenter in the Democratic Republic of Congo to other African nations, is being driven by a new strain of the virus which has alarmed health experts. Here is what you need to know.
What is mpox? The infectious disease formerly known as monkeypox was first detected in humans in the DRC in 1970. There are two subtypes of the virus: clade I and clade II. The deadlier clade I has been endemic in the Congo Basin in central Africa for decades.
The less severe clade II has meanwhile been endemic in parts of West Africa. Until the last few years, outbreaks were mostly sparked by people catching the virus from infected animals such as rodents, for example when eating bushmeat. Symptoms include fever, muscular aches and large boil-like skin lesions.
The global outbreak? The virus rose to greater prominence in May 202.