Mpox still a health emergency – WHO

The World Health Organization, WHO, on Thursday said the Mpox outbreak is still a public health emergency.

The global health agency, which first declared the emergency in August last year, said its decision was based on the continuing rise in the number of mpox cases and the geographic spread of the outbreak.

According to the WHO, violence in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, which has hampered its response plan, was also a factor.

It was gathered that a different form of mpox was also labelled as an emergency in 2022-2023.

According to a recent report from the WHO, the new form of mpox continues to predominantly affect the Democratic Republic of Congo, but Uganda and Burundi are also significantly affected.

There have also been travel-related cases in countries including Thailand and Britain.

The health agency said globally, there have been more than 21,000 cases confirmed by laboratory testing since the beginning of 2024, including 70 deaths, mainly in Congo.

Last year, there were also more than 50,000 suspected cases, and more than 1,000 deaths.

DAILY POST reports that Mpox is a viral infection that spreads through close contact and typically causes flu-like symptoms and pus-filled lesions. It is usually mild, but can be lethal.