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Andrew Feinberg
White House Correspondent
New MPOX cases have been reported in some African countries, and the World Health Organization has declared it a continuing public health emergency, with several cases reported outside the African continent.
Formerly known as monkeypox, the infection is on the rise in the Democratic Republic of Congo, which accounts for 96 percent of all cases in Africa.
There are now more than 17,000 confirmed cases across the continent, with the WHO saying the outbreak is of “international concern”.
The outbreak comes as a new lineage, named lineage 1b, which is said to be spreading mainly through sexual networks, has been identified in Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda, countries that have never previously reported cases of MPOX, according to the WHO.
A Public Health Emergency has been declared by WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, who has now launched a Global Strategic Preparedness and Response Plan aimed at preventing the spread of the virus.
“The MPOX epidemic in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and neighbouring countries is controllable and can be stopped,” said Dr Tedros.
“To achieve this, we need a comprehensive and coordinated plan of action.”
According to the latest report from the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, there have been more than 100,000 confirmed cases of monkeypox lineages 1 and 2 in over 120 countries, with over 200 deaths.
A case of the lineage 1b strain, the most concerning strain, was detected in Sweden in August, public health officials there confirmed. The person in quarantine had been infected while in an African country where other cases have been reported, officials said.
Cases of the variant have also been confirmed in India and Thailand, but it is not thought to be widespread in those countries.
Below is a map of all confirmed MPOX cases (each strain) worldwide since the beginning of 2024.
“The emergence of the new MPOX lineage and its rapid spread in eastern DRC, with reported cases in several neighbouring countries, is extremely worrying,” said Dr Tedros.
“This, along with other MPOX lineage outbreaks in the Democratic Republic of Congo and other African countries, clearly requires a coordinated international response to stop these outbreaks and save lives.”
The organization is working with countries around the world to rapidly obtain a vaccine and coordinate containment efforts, saying it needs an initial $15 million to mount an effective response.
Here are all the locations where lineage 1b cases have currently been confirmed:
Following the outbreak, the US government said that no cases of the I lineage had been reported and that the risk to the public was “very low.” However, the US has confirmed 1,399 cases of other MPOX lineages so far this year, roughly the same number as the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
A US spokesman said: “In addition to ongoing medical assistance, the US has provided an additional $17 million (£13.1 million) over the past few months to support lineage I mpox preparedness and response activities in Central and East Africa.”
“The funding has enabled enhanced surveillance, risk communication and community engagement, as well as necessary laboratory supplies, diagnostics, clinical services and vaccination programs.”
So far, the global risk assessment is set at “medium,” with lineage I cases concentrated mainly in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and its neighbouring countries.
