World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, PhD, has declared the mpox outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and other African countries a public health emergency of international concern.
An International Health Regulations emergency committee told Dr. Tedros the outbreak has potential to spread to more countries in and outside of Africa, according to an Aug. 14 news release from the WHO.
Mpox was previously declared a public health emergency of international concern in July 2022; that declaration ended in May 2023 after case numbers declined.
This year, there have been 15,600 mpox cases reported in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, a number that exceeds total case numbers in 2023. There have been 53 deaths from mpox reported in the country this year, the release said.
Dr. Tedros triggered the Emergency Use Listing for mpox vaccines to accelerate distribution and access.
Read the full WHO news release here.