The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared the ongoing mpox outbreak in Africa a global health emergency. This decision comes after concerns that a deadlier strain of the virus, clade Ib, has spread to four previously unaffected countries in Africa, beyond its initial containment in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
During a virtual meeting, WHO's emergency committee advised Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on the severity of the outbreak, leading to the declaration of a public health emergency of international concern - the highest level of alarm under international health law.
