WHO; Calls Emergency Meeting as Deadly Mpox Surges in Congo

WHO; Calls Emergency Meeting as Deadly Mpox Surges in Congo

The Director General of the World Health Organsation (WHO), Dr Tedros Ghebreyesus said an Emergency Committee under the International Health Regulations will be convened to discuss whether the current Mpox outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo represents a public health emergency of international concern.

Ghebreyesus said this at a media briefing on Wednesday, which was monitored virtually.

He said the committee would meet as soon as possible and would be made up of independent experts from a range of relevant disciplines from around the world.

Since the beginning of this year, the DRC has been experiencing a severe outbreak of Mpox, with more than 14,000 reported cases and 511 deaths.

Outbreaks of Mpox have been reported in DRC for decades, and the number of cases reported each year has been increasing steadily.

However, the number of cases reported in the first six months of this year matches the number reported in last year, and the virus has spread to previously unaffected provinces.

“In the past month, about 50 confirmed and more suspected cases have been reported in four countries neighbouring the DRC that have not been reported before – Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, and Uganda.

“Mpox outbreaks are caused by different viruses called clades. Clade 1 has been circulating in the DRC for years, while clade 2 was responsible for the global outbreak which began in 2022.

“The current outbreak in the Eastern DRC is caused by a new offshoot of clade 1, called clade 1b, which causes more severe disease than clade 2.

“Clade 1b has been confirmed in Kenya, Rwanda, and Uganda, while the clade in Burundi is still being analysed. At the same time, cases of clade 1a have been reported this year in DRC, the Central African Republic and the Republic of Congo, while clade 2 has been reported in Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Liberia, Nigeria and South Africa,” Ghebreyesus explained.

The WHO boss noted that the organisation is working with the governments of the affected countries, the Africa CDC, NGOs, civil society, and other partners to understand and address the drivers of these outbreaks.

He said stopping transmission will require a comprehensive response, with communities at the centre.

“WHO has Standing Recommendations on Mpox which include advice not to impose travel restrictions on affected countries.

“WHO has developed a regional response plan, requiring $15 million to support surveillance, preparedness, and response activities.

“We have released $1 million from the WHO Contingency Fund for Emergencies to support scale-up of the response, and we plan to release more in the coming days,” Ghebreyesus stated.

According to him, two vaccines for Mpox have been approved by WHO-listed national regulatory authorities, and are recommended by WHO’s Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunization.

“I have triggered the process for Emergency Use Listing of both vaccines, which will accelerate vaccine access, particularly for lower-income countries, which have not yet issued their national regulatory approval.

“Emergency Use Listing also enables partners including Gavi and UNICEF to procure vaccines for distribution.

“WHO is grateful to Japan, the United States, the European Union, and manufacturers for working with us on vaccine donations. We are working with all partners through the interim Medical Countermeasures Network to facilitate equitable access to vaccines, therapeutics, diagnostics, and other tools.

“In light of the spread of Mpox outside DRC, and the potential for further international spread within and outside Africa, I have decided to convene an Emergency Committee under the International Health Regulations to advise me on whether the outbreak represents a public health emergency of international concern.

“The committee will meet as soon as possible and will be made up of independent experts from a range of relevant disciplines from around the world,” he added.

Recently, the Permanent Representatives Committee of the African Union has approved an emergency allocation of $10.4 million from existing COVID funds to the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention to support ongoing efforts to combat the Mpox outbreak across the continent.

“The funding released by the PRC will complement national efforts by African governments and support from various partners to strengthen five critical areas in the fight against Mpox: enhancing Mpox surveillance and surge capacity, boosting laboratory testing and genomic sequencing capacity, strengthening regional and national data collection and analytics, enhancing case management, infection prevention and control, risk communication, community engagement, and improving access to and delivery of vaccines, diagnostics, and supplies across the continent,” the Africa CDC disclosed in a statement.