Mpox remains public health emergency of International concern, says WHO
London: The World Health Organization (WHO) reiterated on Friday that the ongoing Mpox outbreak continues to pose a public health emergency. The WHO first declared the outbreak an emergency in August, following the spread of a new form of mpox from the severely affected Democratic Republic of Congo to neighbouring countries.
The WHO had convened a meeting of its Emergency Committee and, agreeing with its advice, the WHO Director-General has determined that the upsurge of mpox continues to constitute a public health emergency of international concern, news agency Reuters reported.
The decision is based on the rising number and continuing geographic spread of cases, operational challenges in the field and the need to mount and sustain a cohesive response across countries and partners, the WHO said.
Also Read:WHO approves first mpox diagnostic test for emergency use, boosting global access
Mpox is a viral infection that spreads through close contact, and typically causes flu-like symptoms and pus-filled lesions. It is usually mild, but it can be lethal.
This year, there have been more than 46,000 suspected cases across Africa, mainly in Congo, and more than 1,000 suspected deaths.
The label of "public health emergency of international concern" is the WHO's highest form of alert, and was also applied to a global outbreak of a different form of mpox in 2022-2023.
The alert issued this year followed the spread of a new variant of the virus, called clade Ib.
Cases of this variant have been confirmed in the UK, Germany, Sweden and India, among other countries.
In September, after facing criticism on moving too slowly on vaccines, the WHO cleared Bavarian Nordic's vaccine for mpox and, earlier this month, listed Japan's KM Biologics' shot for emergency use.
Medical Dialogues team had earlier reported that the Union Health Ministry has issued an advisory to all states and union territories to prevent and minimise the risk of further spread of Mpox in the country. This follows India becoming the third non-African nation to report a case of clade 1b Mpox infection.
Also Read:Mpox Scare: Health Ministry issues advisory to states, UTs to create awareness
