WHO Declares Mpox a Public Health Emergency of International Concern

The World Health Organization has determined that the upsurge of mpox cases in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and a growing number of African countries constitutes a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC).

The declaration follows an Aug. 14 meeting of the International Health Regulations Emergency Committee, which reviewed data presented by WHO experts and affected countries. The committee noted that the emergence and rapid spread of a new virus, clade 1b, is one of the main reasons for the PHEIC determination.

Since its emergency in the DRC last year, clade 1b has caused more than 15,600 cases and 537 deaths. In the past month, four countries neighboring the DRC that have not previously reported mpox – Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda – have reported more than 100 cases. On Thursday, Sweden reported a case of clade 1b mpox – the first person diagnosed outside the African continent.

In response to the increase in cases, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, MD, triggered the process for emergency use of mpox vaccines, which will accelerate access for lower-income countries that have not yet issued their own national regulatory approval. This also enables partners like Gavi and UNICEF to procure vaccines for distribution.

Mpox Risk in the United States

In the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a statement supporting the WHO declaration and pledging support to African governments, Africa CDC and WHO to ensure an effective response to the current outbreak and protect the health and lives of people in the region.

CDC also confirmed that there are no known cases in the U.S. at this time and that the risk to the public is very low. However, the agency issued an updated Health Alert Network advisory urging clinicians to consider clade 1 mpox in people who have been in the DRC or neighboring countries in the previous 21 days if they have symptoms consistent with mpox. The agency also asked clinicians to submit specimens for clade-specific testing for these patients.

AABB reminds members that mpox is not known to be transfusion-transmissible, and there have been no reports of transfusion-transmitted cases. Furthermore, routine measures used to determine blood donor eligibility would prevent individuals with symptomatic infections from donating blood. Additional information is available in AABB’s Emerging Infectious Diseases Fact Sheets and on FDA’s Mpox Response web page.