WHO Declares New Monkeypox Outbreak a Global Health Emergency

Key Points

• Monkeypox (mpox) has been an issue in Africa for decades but spread globally in 2022, primarily among men who have sex with men.
• A new, deadlier strain of the virus, clade 1b, has spread widely in Africa and recently reached four previously unaffected countries, prompting the World Health Organization (WHO) to declare a global health emergency.
• Although the upsurge and continuing 2022 outbreak are of serious concern, experts stress that mpox will not be like the COVID-19 pandemic.

What exactly is monkeypox and could it spark a new pandemic? That's the question many people are now asking after the World Health Organization (WHO) officially declared the disease a "global health emergency" on August 14, 2024.

Experts say the virus, now known as mpox, isn't as catastrophic as COVID-19, but it is dangerous, nonetheless.

What makes monkeypox a global health emergency?

The World Health Organization assembled its emergency committee after reports that clade 1b—a deadlier strain of mpox than the type that sparked the 2022 outbreak—had spread from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to four previously unaffected countries in Africa.

There have been more than 15,000 reported cases and 537 deaths this year in Africa, primarily in the DRC. A whopping 4,000 new cases of mpox had emerged on the continent the week prior, according to an August 2024 report.

Officials in Sweden and Thailand had also reported cases of the clade 1b variant.

After the meeting, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus deemed the outbreak a public health emergency of international concern.

"The detection and rapid spread of a new clade of mpox in eastern DRC, its detection in neighboring countries that had not previously reported mpox, and the potential for further spread within Africa and beyond is very worrying," Ghebreyesus said in a press conference statement.

"The emergency committee met and advised me that the situation constitutes a public health emergency of international concern. I have accepted that advice," Ghebreyesus said.

Why is monkeypox bad?

The virus has two genetic clades: Clade 1 and Clade 2. Clades are groups of similar viruses that share a common lineage and genetic sequence, according to the CDC.

Clade 2 caused the 2022 outbreak but is a less severe form of the virus and that more than 99.9 percent of those affected survive.

Clade 1 causes more severe symptoms and has a mortality rate of about 3.6 percent, according to the University of California San Francisco. Immunocompromised people, including those with HIV, are more likely to get severely sick and die from mpox.

This is the second time WHO has designated the virus a global health emergency. The organization did so in 2022 during an international outbreak that affected almost 100,000 people, including 33,000 in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

"The current upsurge of mpox in parts of Africa, along with the spread of a new sexually transmissible strain of the monkeypox virus, is an emergency, not only for Africa but for the entire globe," WHO Committee Chair Professor Dimie Ogoina said in a news release.

"Mpox, originating in Africa, was neglected there and later caused a global outbreak in 2022. It is time to act decisively to prevent history from repeating itself," Ogoina said.

The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) also deemed the outbreak a public health emergency of continental security. It's the first time since the organization's formation in 2017 that the organization has issued such a declaration.

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Where did monkeypox come from?

The first case of mpox in humans appeared in 1970 in a nine-month-old child in the DRC. The exact origin of monkeypox is unknown, but scientists first detected the virus in 1958 in monkeys kept for research.

This virus can spread between animals and people when an infected animal bites, scratches or comes into contact with a human during activities such as hunting, skinning, trapping or eating.

Officials in some African provinces have traced mpox infections to the consumption of infected bushmeat, indicated a 2024 report.

Is monkeypox a sexually transmitted infection?

Mpox primarily spreads between humans through skin-to-skin or mouth-to-mouth contact with an infected person. As a result, people with multiple sexual partners are at higher risk.

During the 2022 outbreak, most cases occurred in men who have sex with men, suggested a 2022 report. However, anyone can contract the virus, regardless of gender, sexual orientation or whether they're sexually active.

The Clade 1b mpox outbreak is affecting a broader demographic than the 2022 Clade 2 outbreak, which is still ongoing, according to a 2024 BBC report.

Some experts believe mpox meets the criteria to be classified as a sexually transmitted infection (STI), indicated a 2023 review, but a 2023 review believes such a classification could be harmful.

Why? people can also catch the virus if an infected person talks or breathes close to them (face-to-face contact) or by touching contaminated objects or consuming infected meat.

Monkeypox and pregnancy are an especially dangerous combination. Pregnant people who have mpox can pass the virus to their baby and that can lead to miscarriage, stillbirth, infant death or complications for the mother.

Mpox symptoms are similar to smallpox, though usually less severe. These symptoms include:

• Fever
• Headache
• Muscle aches
• Back pain
• Skin rash
• Mucosal lesions
• Enlarged lymph nodes
• Low energy

Could monkeypox start the next pandemic?

Experts don't think mpox will have the same impact as COVID-19, nor is an outbreak likely to require lockdowns.

"Mpox is not the new COVID," Hans Kluge, WHO's European director, said in a virtual UN news briefing, according to a 2024 report.

Global health authorities already know a lot about mpox and how to control and stop its spread, he said.

"We can and must tackle mpox together," he said. "Will we choose to put the systems in place to control and eliminate mpox globally? Or will we enter another cycle of panic and neglect? How we respond now and in the years to come will prove a critical test for Europe and the world."

Although mpox, like COVID-19, can be passed through respiratory droplets and infected objects and surfaces, it mostly spreads through skin-to-skin contact and isn't as contagious.

For comparison, within months of the coronavirus emerging in China, the number of cases skyrocketed, increasing more than tenfold in a single week in January, indicated a 2024 report.

Within three months, at least 126,000 people had been infected by COVID-19, and 4,600 had died.

Mpox, on the other hand, has affected almost 100,000 people since 2022 and killed about 200. Plus, unlike when the coronavirus began in 2020, there are already vaccines to prevent mpox.

Still, international health authorities stress that the impact of monkeypox could be substantial and is a matter of serious concern, particularly because the new Clade 1b strain is far more dangerous than Clade 2.

The bottom line

Mpox is not the new COVID-19, but the latest outbreak has been declared a public health emergency by international health authorities.

Practicing safe sex and getting vaccinated if you're in a high-risk group can help prevent infection and stop the outbreak's spread.

If you think you may have monkeypox, see your healthcare provider immediately and abstain from sex until you meet with your doctor and receive treatment.