The World Health Organization (WHO) is supporting African countries to scale up response to curb mpox, which is now an international global health emergency.
The outbreak that affected the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and spread to neighbouring countries continues to grow.
On Thursday afternoon, WHO member Sweden became the first country outside Africa to record a case of the mpox Clade 1 variant that is believed to be driving the latest outbreak.
"We are hard at work on the frontlines of the response, collaborating closely with governments and communities to strengthen mpox control measures and are ramping up efforts to curb the widening trend of the virus through coordinated action with partners and national authorities," said Dr. Matshidiso Moeti, WHO Regional Director for Africa.
Viral disease, global concern
Mpox - formerly monkeypox - is a viral disease that can be transmitted through physical contact with an infected person, animal or contaminated objects.
It was first detected in humans in 1970, in the DRC, and is considered endemic to countries in Central and West Africa.
Outbreaks are caused by different mpox viruses called clades, and the clade 1 strain has been circulating in the DRC for years.
The emergence of a new offshoot - clade 1b - and its rapid spread, including to nearby countries, is among the main reasons why WHO declared on Wednesday that mpox constitutes a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC).
So far this year, more than 2,100 laboratory confirmed cases of the disease, and 13 deaths, have been reported in the DRC and 11 other countries: Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Congo, Côte d'Ivoire, Kenya, Liberia, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa and Uganda.
This compares to 1,145 confirmed cases, and seven deaths, in 11 countries for all of 2023.
Support and collaboration
WHO is stepping up support to the affected countries by deploying additional experts, including epidemiologists and anthropologists, and providing initial funding to accelerate outbreak response measures.
