Monkey pox: what does the WHO alert mean?

Jane Anderson
Jane Anderson
Variole du singe: what does the WHO alert mean?

Cases of mpox, formerly called monkeypox, have been increasing on the African continent for several weeks. The virus has even spread to Europe. A new strain of the virus has prompted the WHO to trigger its highest level of alert.

This Wednesday, August 14, the World Health Organization (WHO) triggered its highest level of global alert for mpox. This virus, also called monkeypox, is rampant on the African continent. A mutation of the virus, more deadly and more transmissible than the previous ones, raises fears of a spread of the disease. On Tuesday August 14, the African Union health agency had already declared a “continental public health emergency” and launched a “clear call to action” in order to stop the spread of the disease.

The last time this alert level was triggered for monkeypox was in 2022. It ended in May 2023. At the time, another strain of the virus (clade II) had spread in Europe and in the United States.

A “public health emergency of international concern”

Mpox, which is rampant in Africa, has prompted the WHO this Wednesday August 14 to trigger, its highest level of global alert. Formerly known as monkeypox, mpox first appeared in humans in 1970, in what is now the Democratic Republic of Congo. In 2022, a global epidemic, carried by the clade 2 subtype, spread to around 100 countries where the disease was not endemic. The WHO then decreed the maximum alert in July 2022, then lifted it less than a year later, in May 2023.

This virus has mutated into various variants. Today, it is a new mutation of the virus that is more deadly and transmissible which pushes the WHO to declare this state of emergency. The general director of the organization, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus explains that “ The emergency committee met and informed me that in their opinion the situation constitutes a public health emergency of international concern. I accepted this opinion »during a press conference. This qualification is the highest alert that the organization can raise. This strain that the WHO is keeping an eye on is clade 1b. She is more deadly and more transmissible than the previous ones. This variant causes rashes to appear all over the body.

This case of a new variant was recorded in Sweden. A person living in the Stockholm region has been diagnosed with the clade 1 subtype of the mpox virus, the Swedish public health agency announced Thursday (August 15). This is the first time that the variant has crossed African borders. The WHO therefore has only one mission: to reduce the spread of this new variant as much as possible.

What is this alert for?

With this international alert, the WHO hopes raise awareness in countries around the world. Through this approach, the organization encourages countries to step up surveillance and prevention. With this alert, the WHO “ commits, in the days and weeks to come, to coordinating the global response, working closely with each of the affected countries and leveraging its presence on the ground”added Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. And this, “ to prevent transmission, treat infected people and save lives”he added. “This is a situation that should concern us all”he stressed.

To save lives, the WHO does not fail to remind that vaccines exist. The effectiveness of the latter is reliable. “The rapid deployment of anti-smallpox vaccination with MVA-BN (Modified vaccine Ankara) among HIV-uninfected men who have sex with men can significantly reduce the risk of mpox, with a reduction in incidence estimated at 99% »according to the conclusions of a French study published on July 31 in the journal The Lancet Regional Health-Europe.

mpox has already caused 517 deaths in 13 African countries since the start of 2024. In total, these are 17,541 cases that have been identifiedincluding 2,863 confirmed by a test.

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