The World Health Organization (WHO) on Wednesday declared a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC), its highest level of alert, due to a new variant of the mpox viral disease in Africa.
The WHO asserted that there is a risk that mpox could spread internationally again after 2022 and become a health risk in several countries.
The WHO followed the recommendation of independent mpox experts, who had met at the WHO's invitation in the so-called emergency committee, WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in Geneva.
The declaration of the emergency does not have concrete consequences. Instead, it aims to alert authorities worldwide to prepare for possible outbreaks.
The WHO's main concern is about a new virus variant discovered in late 2023 in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. This variant, a subline of the mpox clade I, named Ib, could be more contagious and cause more severe illnesses than previous variants. Detailed studies are still pending.
Clade I mpox has recently been identified for the first time in Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi and Kenya.
More than 14,000 cases of a new strain of mpox have been recorded in Africa this year, Tedros said at the start of the online meeting.
The epicentre is the Democratic Republic Congo, but 90 cases have been reported in recent weeks in neighbouring countries as the outbreak threatens to spread.
Mpox is a viral disease that causes a blistering rash. It is spread by physical contact with infected people or animals, as well as contaminated materials.
Although most patients fully recover, the illness can be dangerous for children, pregnant women and those with suppressed immune systems.
At least 500 people have died in the current outbreak, Tedros said.
The WHO receives less than 1,000 laboratory-confirmed cases from around the world each month. The organization believes that many cases are undetected due to limited testing capacities.
Risk in Europe 'very low'
The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) assessed the risk of the new variant spreading in Europe as "very low" at the end of July.
According to Germany's Robert Koch Institute (RKI), there are no known cases of clade I mpox in Germany so far.
Mpox was previously known as monkeypox because it was first detected in monkeys. The WHO established the new name to avoid naming diseases after animals or countries where they are discovered, to prevent discrimination.
EU to send vaccines to Africa
The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (AfricaCDC) declared mpox to be a continent-wide public health emergency on Tuesday, and asked for international help in achieving its target of providing 2 million vaccines.
Earlier on Wednesday, the European Commission said the EU would send AfricaCDC 175,420 doses of mpox vaccines.
The commission said in a statement that it would supply the vaccines via its Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Authority (HERA).
Pharmaceutical firm Bavarian Nordic, which manufactures the vaccine, will donate 40,000 doses to HERA, the statement said.
According to the commission, Modified Vaccinia Ankara-Bavarian Nordic (MVA-BN) is approved for use in at-risk adults by the EU, the United Kingdom and the United States, among others.
However, only two African countries have approved it so far. Last week, the WHO asked Bavarian Nordic to seek emergency use listing to speed up the process of making it available in the affected countries.
New variant causes concern
The latest developments come just two years after the WHO last declared a public health emergency due to the illness.
At that time, cases were reported in more than 60 countries, including Germany. The infections were due to clade II, which causes less severe illnesses.
The emergency was lifted in May 2023 because outbreaks in most countries were brought under control, partly with the help of vaccines. In Africa and other countries of the global south, vaccine supply issues persist.
However, since late 2023, a new clade, or variant, has been circulating in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.
Observers say the new strain could spread more easily and cause more severe illness.
For the moment, the latest outbreak has been largely confined to Africa.
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