The World Health Organization on Wednesday declared the ongoing mpox outbreak in Africa a global health emergency.
WHO convened its emergency committee amid concerns that a deadlier strain of the virus, clade Ib, had reached four previously unaffected countries in Africa. This strain had previously been contained to the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The independent experts met virtually Wednesday to advise WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on the severity of the outbreak. After that consultation, he announced that he had declared a public health emergency of international concern — the highest level of alarm under international health law.
“The detection and rapid spread of a new clade of mpox in eastern DRC, its detection in neighboring countries that had not previously reported mpox and the potential for further spread within Africa and beyond is very worrying,” he said.
“The emergency committee met and advised me that the situation constitutes a public health emergency of international concern. I have accepted that advice.”
Also known as a PHEIC, this is a status given by WHO to “extraordinary events” that pose a public health risk to other countries through the international spread of disease. These outbreaks may require a coordinated international response, according to the organization.
“It was unanimous that the current outbreak of mpox, upsurge of mpox, is an extraordinary event,” committee Chair Dimie Ogoina said. “What we have in Africa is the tip of the iceberg. … We are not recognizing, or we don’t have the full picture of, this burden of mpox.”
