WHO Declares Mpox Outbreak a Global Health Emergency
A deadlier, more transmissible form of mpox is spreading rapidly in some African nations, including places where the virus is not endemic.
The World Health Organization has declared an outbreak of mpox a “public health emergency of continental security.”
The announcement marks the second time in three years that WHO has designated an mpox epidemic as a global health emergency, following a global outbreak in 2022 that prompted Western governments and health agencies to undertake vaccination efforts in an attempt to curb the spread of the virus.
The 2022 epidemic was caused by the clade II form of the virus, spreading rapidly among men who have sex with men. In total, about 100,000 people were infected, with 200 dying. The virus’s death rate generally ranges from 0.1% to 3.6% of cases.
That outbreak continues to be ongoing, with spikes in the number of reported cases occurring in states like Virginia as recently as March, primarily among the unvaccinated.
The most recent outbreak is due to the spread of a deadlier strain of the virus, known as clade I, whose death rate generally ranges from 1.4% to 10%.
While both strains of mpox are endemic to Africa, and both are spread through close personal contact — generally skin-to-skin contact — clade I has been observed to be more easily transmissible, and to cause a higher proportion of severe infections.
Initial symptoms of mpox infection generally consist of fever, chills, exhaustion, headache, and muscle weakness, followed by a rash with lesions that scab over and slowly heal over a period of weeks.
The Democratic Republic of Congo has reported more than 14,000 mpox cases and 524 deaths since the beginning of the year. The outbreak has spread through 13 different African countries, including some that have never reported mpox cases before, such as Rwanda, Burundi, and Uganda.
In some cases, the virus has spread through sexual contact, both among men who have sex with men and among female sex workers and their contacts.
In other provinces, patients appear to have acquired the virus through contact with infected dead or live wild animals, from infected family members, or from taking care of infected individuals without appropriate barriers or personal protective equipment.
“The worst case I’ve seen is that of a six-week-old baby who was just two weeks old when he contracted mpox,” Jacques Alonda, an epidemiologist working in Congo, told the Associated Press. “He got infected because hospital overcrowding meant he and his mother were forced to share a room with someone else who had the virus, which was undiagnosed.”
To curb the epidemic, health officials have approved two vaccines, a Japanese product called LC16 and Jynneos, the vaccine made by Bavarian Nordic that was used in the 2022 outbreak in the United States and Europe, and protects against both clade I and clade II orthopox viruses. The Democratic Republic of Congo has yet to institute a plan for how to immunize those who aren’t yet infected.
Given the disease’s rapid spread, it makes sense for WHO to declare a global health emergency.
In doing so, the organization is warning member countries to make preparations should cases of mpox clade I be reported in their own jurisdictions. It is also intended to prompt member countries to share vaccines, treatments, and other resources with poorer nations affected by the disease.
On August 9, WHO invited vaccine manufacturers to apply for an “emergency use listing” — a risk-based procedure in which unlicensed vaccines can be approved for special use, in order to combat a public health emergency — with the aim of rapidly starting mass vaccination campaigns in countries affected by the spread of the clade I virus.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has noted that, due to the limited number of travelers and lack of direct commercial flights from the Democratic Republic of Congo or neighboring countries, the risk of clade I infections appearing in the United States is very low.
However, it has urged clinicians and the public in the United States to take precautions just in case, and noted that it has the testing capacity to examine and identify clade I infections should they emerge.
Support Metro Weekly’s Journalism
These are challenging times for news organizations. And yet it’s crucial we stay active and provide vital resources and information to both our local readers and the world. So won’t you please take a moment and consider supporting Metro Weekly with a membership? For as little as $5 a month, you can help ensure Metro Weekly magazine and MetroWeekly.com remain free, viable resources as we provide the best, most diverse, culturally-resonant LGBTQ coverage in both the D.C. region and around the world. Memberships come with exclusive perks and discounts, your own personal digital delivery of each week’s magazine (and an archive), access to our Member's Lounge when it launches this fall, and exclusive members-only items like Metro Weekly Membership Mugs and Tote Bags! Check out all our membership levels here and please join us today!
You must be logged in to post a comment.