LONDON—The World Health Organization declared Wednesday that the increasing spread of mpox in Africa is a global health emergency, warning the virus might ultimately spill across international borders. The announcement by WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus came after a meeting of the UN health agency’s emergency committee.
This undated image provided by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases shows a colorized transmission electron micrograph of monkeypox particles found within an infected cell , cultured in the laboratory that was captured and color-enhanced at the NIAID Integrated Research Facility in Fort Detrick, Md.
So far, more than 96 percent of all cases and deaths are in a single country — Congo. Scientists are concerned by the spread of a new version of the disease there that might be more easily transmitted among people.Mpox, also known as monkeypox, was first identified by scientists in 1958 when there were outbreaks of a “pox-like” disease in monkeys. Until recently, most human cases were seen in people in central and West Africa who had close contact with infected animals.
Unlike in previous mpox outbreaks, where lesions were mostly seen on the chest, hands and feet, the new form of mpox causes milder symptoms and lesions on the genitals. On Thursday, Sweden’s public health agency said it identified the first case of the new mpox variant in someone who had recently been in Africa, and who sought health care in Stockholm.
Africa CDC Director General Dr. Jean Kaseya said the agency’s declaration of a public health emergency was meant “to mobilize our institutions, our collective will and our resources to act swiftly and decisively.” He appealed to Africa’s international partners for help, saying that the escalating caseload in Africa had largely been ignored.
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