WHO declares global emergency over mpox outbreak as new form of virus spreads

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has declared the mpox outbreaks in Africa a global emergency, with cases confirmed among children and adults in more than a dozen countries and a new form of the virus spreading.

There are few vaccine doses are available on the continent.

Earlier this week, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention announced that the mpox outbreaks were a public health emergency, with more than 500 deaths, and called for international help to stop the virus’ spread.

“This is something that should concern us all … The potential for further spread beyond Africa and beyond is very worrying,” said WHO director general Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

The Africa CDC previously said that mpox, previously known as monkeypox, has been detected in 13 countries this year, and that more than 96 percent of all cases and deaths are in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Cases are up 160 percent and deaths are up 19 percent compared with the same period last year.

So far, there have been over 14,000 cases and 524 people have died.