The World Health Organization (WHO) determined the surge of mpox in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and a growing number of countries in Africa constitutes a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC) under the International Health Regulations.
“The emergence of a new clade of mpox, its rapid spread in eastern DRC, and the reporting of cases in several neighboring countries are very worrying,” said WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. “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.”
This PHEIC determination is the second in two years relating to mpox. In July 2022, the multi-country outbreak of mpox was declared a PHEIC as it spread rapidly via sexual contact across a range of countries where the virus had not been seen before. That PHEIC was declared over in May 2023 after there had been a sustained decline in global cases.
Mpox has been reported in the DRC for more than a decade, and the number of cases reported each year has increased steadily over that period. Last year, reported cases increased significantly, and already the number of cases reported so far this year has exceeded last year’s total, with more than 15, 600 cases and 537 deaths.
The emergence last year and rapid spread of a new virus strain in DRC, clade 1b, which appears to be spreading mainly through sexual networks, and its detection in countries neighboring the DRC is especially concerning, and one of the main reasons for the declaration of the PHEIC.
In the past month, over 100 laboratory-confirmed cases of clade 1b have been reported in four countries neighboring the DRC that have not reported mpox before: Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda. Experts believe the true number of cases to be higher as a large proportion of clinically compatible cases have not been tested. Several outbreaks of different clades of mpox have occurred in different countries, with different modes of transmission and different levels of risk.
The two vaccines currently in use for mpox are recommended by WHO’s Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunization, and are also approved by WHO-listed national regulatory authorities, as well as by individual countries including Nigeria and the DRC. WHO is working with countries and vaccine manufacturers on potential vaccine donations, and coordinating with partners through the interim Medical Countermeasures Network to facilitate equitable access to vaccines, therapeutics, diagnostics and other tools.
