WHO declares mpox outbreak in Africa a global health emergency

The ongoing mpox outbreak in Africa is a global health emergency, the highest level of alarm under international health law, the World Health Organization says.

More than 17,000 mpox cases and more than 500 deaths have been reported in 13 countries in Africa, according to the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Mpox, formerly known as monkeypox, is a viral disease that can spread easily between people and from infected animals.

According to an Israeli Health Ministry spokesperson, the WHO’s announcement pertains to the outbreak of Clade I (a strain of the virus) in the Democratic Republic of Congo, and there is no evidence that it exists outside of Africa, including in Israel.”

The ministry recommends that populations at risk of contracting the virus, including men who have sex with men, complete the vaccination protocol, which includes two doses administered at least one month apart. The vaccine is available at health clinics.

Mpox symptoms include fever, rash, swollen lymph nodes, fatigue, headaches, muscle aches, chills, and exhaustion. The illness typically resolves within two to four weeks.

In May 2022, there was an outbreak in Israel, when 260 people were diagnosed with the disease but there were no known deaths.

Mpox was first named monkeypox in 1958 when research monkeys in Denmark were observed to have a “pox-like” disease.

The disease was first discovered in humans in 1970 in the Democratic Republic of Congo.