After COVID, WHO declares Mpox a global public health emergency

The World Health Organization (WHO) on Wednesday, declared Mpox as a global public health emergency. This comes after a spike in cases in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, with the virus spreading to neighboring countries.

Mpox is a viral infection usually spreads through close contact. While usually mild, it can be fatal in rare instances. Symptoms include flu-like illness and a rash of pus-filled lesions.

The highest level of alert issued by the WHO is a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC). The World Health Organisation (WHO)  can expedite research, funding, and global public health measures to manage and contain a disease outbreak by designating it as a "public health emergency of international concern" (PHEIC).

The cases of mpox have surged in the Central African nation since last September. A strain of the virus has now been detected in its neighbouring countries.

"The committee will meet as soon as possible and will be made up of independent experts from a range of relevant disciplines from around the world," Tedros posted on X.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus made the announcement amid an outbreak that has seen nearly 27,000 cases in the DRC and claimed about 1,100 lives, many of them children, according to Al Jazeera.

The mpox has been detected in 10 African nations this year, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention said last week.

Citing the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, Al Jazeera reported that over 96 per cent of the cases are located in DRC. The agency further stated that the cases are up 160 per cent this year, with deaths surging by 19 per cent. 

The disease also appears especially prevalent among the young, with 70 per cent of cases and 85 per cent of deaths in the DRC occurring among children under the age of 15, reported Al Jazeera. The WHO declared mpox, also known as monkeypox, a global emergency in 2022 after it spread to more than 70 countries.

(with inputs from ANI)