The World Health Organization on Wednesday declared mpox a global public health emergency, as U.S. health officials continued to warn about the risk of its spread.
The WHO issued an emergency for mpox virus for the second time in two years, following an outbreak of the viral infection in the Democratic Republic of Congo that has spread to neighboring countries.
An emergency committee of WHO, which is based in Geneva, met early Wednesday to advise WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on whether the disease outbreak constitutes a “public health emergency of international concern,” or PHEIC.
PHEIC status is WHO’s highest alert, designed to accelerate research, funding and international public health measures and cooperation to contain a disease.
“It’s clear that a coordinated international response is essential to stop these outbreaks and save lives,” said Tedros.
Mpox can spread through close contact. The disease is usually mild but can be fatal in rare cases. It causes flu-like symptoms and pus-filled lesions on the body.
The outbreak in Congo began with the spread of an endemic strain, known as clade I. But a new variant, clade Ib, appears to spread more easily through routine close contact, including sexual contact.
It has spread from Congo to neighboring countries, including Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda, triggering this action Wednesday from the WHO.
“The detection and rapid spread of a new clade of mpox in eastern DRC, its detection in neighboring…
