The chief of the World Health Organization (WHO) briefed an emergency committee meeting of the international health regulations body on Wednesday over the on-going spike in mpox virus cases across Africa.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus called for the meeting last Wednesday, to seek advice on whether the mpox - previously monkeypox - outbreaks should be declared a public health emergency of international concern.
Clades and cases
Mpox cases have been spreading throughout many countries in Africa, particularly the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), and neighbouring Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda.
This year already saw over 14,000 reported cases of the virus with 524 deaths, a significant increase in reported cases from 2023.
Tedros previously mentioned that the mpox outbreaks have occurred due to different viruses called clades.
At Wednesday's meeting he said there was transmission of the so-called clade 1b virus in the DRC last year which was caused "mainly through sexual networks." This clade is reportedly deadlier and more easily transmitted from person to person.
Clade 1 has been circulating in the DRC for years while clade 2 was responsible for the global outbreak of 2022 which was declared an international public health emergency.
The chief said in the past month that around 90 cases of successor clade 1b were reported in neighbouring countries of the DRC which had not reported mpox cases before.
"Stopping these outbreaks will require a tailored and comprehensive response, with communities at the centre, as always," Mr. Ghebreyesus said.
Addressing outbreak drivers
The WHO chief said they are working with governments of the affected countries, the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and other partners to "understand and address the drivers of these outbreaks."
Africa CDC declared the situation a public health emergency just hours earlier on Tuesday.
WHO regional response
He said, "WHO has developed a regional response plan, requiring an initial $15 million to support surveillance, preparedness and response activities."
This response was funded by $1.45 million from the WHO Contingency Fund for Emergencies. Mr. Ghebreyesus said more funds will be released in the coming days and he is also appealing for more donor support.
Emergency vaccines
Currently, two WHO-recommended and approved vaccines are being used to combat the mpox virus outbreak.
Under an Emergency Use Listing (EUL) call last week, the Director-General also invited manufacturers of mpox vaccines to express interest in producing them to "accelerate vaccine access for lower-income countries which have not yet issued their own national regulatory approval."
This EUL call will allow partners like the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) to gather vaccines for distribution.
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Tedros said, "We are working with all partners to facilitate equitable access to diagnostics, vaccines, supplies for clinical care and other tools."
WHO recommendations
Last August, the WHO chief released standing recommendations under the IHR to monitor mpox cases.
These recommendations were set to expire in five days, 20 August 2024, but Tedros said he is extending them for another year to "support countries to respond to the chronic risk of mpox."
Some of these recommendations include enhancing community protection through adapting public health and social measures to local contexts, providing guidance and resources for delivering clinical mpox care and more.
