WHO declares mpox global public health emergency

Nigeria has recorded 39 cases of mpox since the beginning of the year, a health official said as concern mounts over the global spread of the disease, report agencies.
The cases were across the country and have not been fatal, according to Jide Idris, the director-general of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention.
The World Health Organization (WHO) this week declared the rapid spread of a new more dangerous mpox strain, Clade 1b, a public health emergency of international concern -- the highest alarm it can sound.
Pakistan health officials announced on Friday their first case of the deadly mpox virus this year, after the World Health Organization declared an international emergency over its spread.
"The affected person has come from a Gulf country," a Ministry of Health statement said, adding the strain was yet to be confirmed.
Sweden's Public Health Agency said Thursday that it had registered a case of the Clade 1b subclade, the first to be diagnosed out of Africa.
Meanwhile, the European Union health agency on Friday urged its member states to get ready for more cases of a deadly strain of mpox, a day after Sweden announced the first case outside Africa.
In a risk assessment, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) said the overall risk for the general population in the EU and European Economic Area (EAA) -- 30 countries altogether -- was "low".
The ECDC said it "recommends that public health authorities in the EU/EEA maintain high levels of preparedness planning and awareness-raising activities to enable rapid detection and response".
The Stockholm-based health body said more imported cases to Europe were "highly likely".
Meanwhile in another development Danish drugmaker Bavarian Nordic said Friday it was seeking European approval to use its mpox vaccine in children aged 12 to 17, after the WHO declared the current virus surge a global public health emergency.
Bavarian Nordic's vaccine is currently only approved for people 18 years and older. "Children and adolescents are disproportionately affected by mpox in the ongoing outbreak in Africa, highlighting the importance and urgency to broaden the access to vaccines and therapies for this vulnerable population," Bavarian Nordic chief executive Paul Chaplin said in a statement.
The company said it had presented the European Medicines Agency with clinical data from a study which showed "non-inferiority of immune responses from mpox/smallpox vaccination in adolescents and (a) similar safety profile compared to adults."
An emergency committee of WHO met earlier on Wednesday to advise WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on whether the disease outbreak constitutes a "public health emergency of international concern," or PHEIC.
PHEIC status is WHO's highest level of alert and aims to accelerate research, funding and international public health measures and cooperation to contain a disease. "It's clear that a coordinated international response is essential to stop these outbreaks and save lives," said Tedros.
Mpox can spread through close contact. Usually mild, it is fatal in rare cases. It causes flu-like symptoms and pus-filled lesions on the body.
The outbreak in Congo began with the spread of an endemic strain, known as clade I. But a new variant, clade Ib, appears to spread more easily through routine close contact, including sexual contact.
It has spread from Congo to neighbouring countries, including Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda, triggering the action from the WHO.
"The detection and rapid spread of a new clade of mpox in eastern DRC, its detection in neighbouring countries that had not previously reported mpox, and the potential for further spread within Africa and beyond is very worrying," Tedros added.
Tedros said on Wednesday that WHO had released $1.5 million in contingency funds and plans to release more in the coming days. WHO's response plan would require an initial $15 million, and the agency plans to appeal to donors for funding.