The World Health Organisation (WHO) has raised the level of response to an outbreak of monkeypox in more than a dozen African countries to its highest level, suggesting that the entire agency is mobilising to fight the disease, Euractiv reports.
The WHO released a report on Monday showing a significant increase in the number of smallpox cases worldwide.
The report cites 99,176 laboratory-confirmed cases and 208 deaths in 116 countries and territories between January 2022 and June 2024. In June 2024 alone (the latest complete monthly incidence surveillance data available), there were 934 new cases and four deaths from 26 countries, indicating continued global spread of the virus.
The WHO risk assessment highlights the high risk of monkeypox (mpox) transmission in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and neighbouring regions, where the virus predominantly affects adults and is spread mainly through sexual contact.
Mpox virus varieties are divided into clades – groups of strains with common genetic characteristics. Clade I, formerly called the Congo Basin or Central African clade, and clade II, formerly called the West African clade, are the main classifications, and clade II is subdivided into subclades IIa and IIb.
High risk has been reported in other regions of DRC, where a variant of clade Ia is endemic, predominantly infecting children.
In the wider region, in Nigeria and other parts of West, Central and East Africa, there is a moderate risk of infection in both children and adults from members of clades I and II. Globally, a moderate risk persists around clade IIb, with outbreaks mainly affecting men who have sex with men.
Monkeypox in Europe
Meanwhile, four European countries – Spain (8,084 cases), France (4,272), the UK (3,952) and Germany (3,857) – are among the top 10 countries with the highest cumulative number of cases between January 2022 and June 2024.
With fewer new smallpox cases reported to WHO, it is difficult to draw conclusions about recent trends in smallpox incidence. WHO has called on all countries to classify smallpox as a reportable disease and to report cases, including zero cases.
The report does not identify countries that do not report cases, so the lack of reported cases may reflect a lack of reporting rather than the absence of the virus.
Mpox, although not a sexually transmitted disease, can be spread through sexual contact like other infections. Initial symptoms include fever, headaches, muscle and back pain, which usually appear within the first five days of infection.
