Mpox continues to be international public health emergency, says WHO chief

World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus announced on Friday that the mpox virus continues to constitute an international public health emergency.

The WHO Emergency Committee met on Friday to discuss the virus, Tedros said in a statement on X, adding that it "advised me that the upsurge of mpox continues to constitute a public health emergency of international concern — I have accepted that advice."

He emphasized that the decision was based on the increasing number of cases, geographical spread, operational challenges on the ground, and the need to establish and sustain a consistent response among countries and partners.

He called on affected countries to intensify their efforts and urged the international community to work together to put an end to the outbreak.

The WHO declared mpox a global public health emergency in August for the second time in two years, following the spread of a new variant of the viral infection from Congo to neighboring countries.

Mpox is a viral disease, formerly called monkeypox before the WHO changed its name in 2022 because of complaints it was racist and stigmatizing.

The zoonotic disease can be transmitted to humans through close physical contact with an infectious person or small wild animal, or via contaminated materials.

Common symptoms include rashes or lesions, as well as a flu-like fever, head and muscle aches, back pain, general weakness, and swollen lymph nodes.