The World Health Organisation has declared Mpox a Public Health Emergency of International Concern.
This announcement follows the declaration by the Africa Centre for Disease Control that the disease is a Public Health Emergency of Continental Security.
Speaking during an online press briefing on Wednesday, The WHO Director-General, Tedros Ghebreyesus, said the rapid spread of the new Mpox Clade in eastern Congo, the detection in neighbouring countries that had not previously reported any cases, and the potential for further outbreaks within Africa and beyond are, in his own words, ‘very worrying’.
More than 14,000 cases and 524 deaths, mostly from a new variant clade 1b, have been recorded in the Democratic Republic of Congo since the beginning of the year.
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The virus has also spread to other African countries, including Burundi, Kenya, and Rwanda, particularly among children.
