WHO chief poised to declare international health emergency as mpox spreads in Africa

The chief of the World Health Organisation is considering convening an expert committee for advice on whether Africa’s growing mpox outbreak in Africa should be declared an international emergency.

A virulent and more deadly strain of the virus previously called monkeypox has been detected in both Kenya and Uganda in recent days, after cases have been surging in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO director general, said his United Nations agency, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, and local governments were all ramping up their responses to the outbreak.

But he said more needed to be done and he was considering taking expert soundings on whether he should declare a public health emergency of international concern – the WHO’s highest level alert.

Read more: The Telegraph