The World Health Organization has declared that monkeypox is a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC). They are calling it mpox now though.
This is the second time this has happened in just five years. The WHO declared monkeypox a PHEIC in July of 2022 but that ended in May of 2023 after a decline in cases. The latest emergency is due to a new strain, according to the WHO.
Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said this: “The emergence of a new clade of mpox, its rapid spread in eastern DRC, and the reporting of cases in several neighbouring countries are very worrying. On top of outbreaks of other mpox clades in DRC and other countries in Africa, it’s clear that a coordinated international response is needed to stop these outbreaks and save lives.”
The WHO says that mpox is “spreading mainly through sexual networks.” There is a vaccine for monkeypox but it was not developed for this current strain. The WHO is calling for rapid development of a new one to be submitted for “emergency evaluation.”
