A PHEIC is the highest level of alarm under international health law.
Today, the Emergency Committee on #mpox met and advised me that in its view, the situation constitutes a public health emergency of international concern. I have accepted that advice.@WHO is on the ground, working with the affected countries, and others at risk, through our…
— Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus (@DrTedros) August 14, 2024
The WHO Director-General, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, called for the meeting last Wednesday to seek advice on whether the mpox – previously monkeypox – outbreaks are cause for international concern.
On Tuesday, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) declared the situation a public health emergency.
“The Emergency Committee’s advice to me, and that of the [Africa CDC], which yesterday declared a public health emergency of regional security, are aligned,” Tedros said in a post on the social media platform X, formerly Twitter.
Clades and cases
Mpox cases have been spreading throughout many countries in Africa, particularly the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and neighbouring Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda. The potential for further spread in Africa is worrying, said the WHO chief.
“In addition to other outbreaks of other clades of mpox in other parts of Africa, it’s clear that a coordinated international response is essential to stop these outbreaks and save lives,” Tedros said.
This year already saw over 14,000 reported cases of the virus with 524 deaths, a significant increase in reported cases from 2023.
Tedros previously mentioned that the mpox outbreaks have occurred due to different viruses called clades.
At Wednesday’s meeting, he said there was transmission of the so-called clade 1b virus in the DRC last year which was caused “mainly through sexual networks”. This clade is reportedly deadlier and more easily transmitted from person to person.
Clade 1 has been circulating in the DRC for years while clade 2 was responsible for the global outbreak of 2022 which was declared an international public health emergency.
Tedros said in the past month that around 90 cases of successor clade 1b were reported in countries neighbouring the DRC which had not reported mpox cases before.
“Stopping these outbreaks will require a tailored and comprehensive response, with communities at the centre, as always,” Tedros said.
Addressing outbreak drivers
The WHO chief said the UN agency is working with governments of the affected countries, the Africa CDC and other partners to “understand and address the drivers of these outbreaks”.
“For example, we are providing machines to analyse blood samples and confirm cases of mpo [and] supporting laboratories to sequence viral samples,” he said.
He further mentioned “supporting case investigation and contact tracing” on the ground, training for health care workers and much more…
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