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WHO chief declares mpox international public health emergency

A coordinated international response is needed to stop these outbreaks and save live, WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said

GENEVA, August 15. /TASS/. The current surge of mpox in Africa constitutes a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC) under the International Health Regulations (2005) (IHR), World Health Organization (WHO) Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said.

In declaring the PHEIC, he said: "The emergence of a new clade of mpox, its rapid spread in eastern DRC, and the reporting of cases in several neighboring 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."

Earlier, the African Union’s health watchdog declared a public health emergency on the continent due to the spread of mpox.

Mpox is a rare viral disease which is endemic to remote regions near tropical forests of Central and Western Africa. The first case of the animal-to-human transmission of this disease was recorded in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in 1970. According to the WHO, this virus is usually transmitted to humans by wild animals, such as rodents and primates, while its secondary spread among humans is limited. Usually the lethality coefficient during mpox outbreaks ranges from 1% to 10% with the majority of fatalities in the younger age groups.

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