The World Health Organization has declared mpox a public health emergency of international concern. Cases of mpox — previously called monkeypox — have been surging in the Democratic Republic of Congo. In recent weeks, cases have appeared in nearby African countries, including several that have never reported mpox cases before.
"What we're seeing is tip of the iceberg" because of weaknesses in the surveillance system, says Dr. Dimie Ogoina , the chair of the emergency committee convened by WHO and an infectious disease physician at Niger Delta University in Nigeria. "This is something that should concern us all," says WHO's director-general, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
WHO has declared seven public health emergencies in the past, including one for mpox in 2022. The type of mpox that is circulating now is known to be more deadly than the type that swept the globe two years ago. "We need to be .
.. aggressive" On Tuesday, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention took a similar step, declaring mpox an emergency.
Africa CDC has never done anything like this before. "We can no longer be reactive — we need to be proactive and aggressive,” says Dr. Jean Kaseya , director-general of Africa CDC.
"This is a fight for all Africans and we will fight it together." In the Democratic Republic of Congo , children make up the majority of the 14,000 reported cases and 511 deaths so far in 2024. Those numbers roughly match the number of cases reported in all of last year in t.