Mpox spreads fast, remain global emergency – WHO

The Director-General of the World Health Organisation, Dr Tedros Ghebreyesus, on Monday announced that the Mpox upsurge continues to meet the criteria of a public health emergency of international concern outlined in the International Health Regulations.

The announcement follows the fourth meeting of the IHR Emergency Committee regarding the upsurge of Mpox, held on June 5, 2025.

A statement by the global health body noted that the committee, recognising progress in the capacity to respond in certain countries, “advised the Director-General that the event continues to constitute a public health emergency.”

This, the committee said, was based on the continuing rise in the number of cases, including a recent increase in West Africa, and likely ongoing undetected transmission in some countries beyond the African continent.

It said ongoing operational challenges in responding to the event, including surveillance and diagnostics, as well as a lack of funding, make prioritising response interventions challenging.

“The Director-General concurred with the committee’s advice and also concurred with and issued the committee’s revised temporary recommendations to member states experiencing Mpox outbreaks.

“The recommendations guide countries’ efforts to prevent and control the spread of the disease,” it stated.

The statement said the full report of the fourth meeting would be issued next week.

The upsurge of Mpox in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and its spread to neighbouring countries was first determined to be a public health emergency of international concern by the Director-General on August 14, 2024.

Since then, the emergency committee has met on three additional occasions, each time advising the Director-General that the event continued to constitute a PHEIC.

As of May 13, 2025, data from the WHO reported 7,411 Mpox cases and 22 deaths in the DRC; 4,590 cases and 28 deaths in Uganda; 1,387 cases and 10 deaths in Sierra Leone; and 937 cases in Burundi, with no reported deaths.

According to the United States Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, sustained and local person-to-person spread of Clade I Mpox had taken place in some non-endemic countries through sexual contact, day-to-day household contact, and within the healthcare setting in the absence of personal protective equipment.

“As of June 2, 2025, the countries of Burundi, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, Malawi, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia are experiencing sustained human-to-human transmission of the virus; there is also evidence of sustained transmission in the Central African Republic and Republic of the Congo.

“As of June 2, 2025, countries reporting travel-associated cases of Clade I Mpox since January 1, 2024, include Angola, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Ireland, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, South Africa, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Zimbabwe.

The ongoing global outbreak of Clade II Mpox has caused more than 100,000 cases in 122 total countries, including 115 countries where Mpox was not previously reported. The outbreak is caused by the subclade IIb,” it highlighted.