WHO is calling for a panel to determine whether the MPox outbreak is a public health emergency

TThe director-general of the World Health Organization announced Wednesday that he will convene a panel of experts to advise him on whether the spreading MPox outbreak in sub-Saharan Africa constitutes a global health emergency. constitutes public health.

The outbreak, which started in the Democratic Republic of Congo but has recently spread to at least three other neighboring countries, has seen more than 14,000 cases so far this year alone, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said, with at least 511 reported deaths.

Tedros said members of the so-called emergency committee would be named “as soon as possible.” Regardless of what it advises, the final decision on whether to declare the outbreak a public health emergency of international concern – a PHEIC – rests with the director-general. In July 2022, during a previous mpox outbreak, Tedros declared a PHEIC, despite the fact that an emergency committee he convened could not reach an agreement on whether one should be declared. That public health emergency ended in May 2023.

The current outbreak involves a different version of the mpox virus than was responsible for the previous event. This version of the virus, known as clade Ib, is associated with a higher fatality rate than the virus that caused the earlier outbreak, clade IIb.

Under the provisions of the International Health Regulations, a PHEIC may be declared if a disease event represents something that is unusual and serious, has the potential for international spread, and is likely to require international cooperation to achieve containment.

This is a current story and will be updated.