WHO calls emergency committee on mpox spread

Cases have surged in the Democratic Republic of Congo due to a strain of the virus which has now been detected in nearby African countries

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Fideline Kiza Kasao checks the progress of her son Kito Balume after his recovery from mpox outside their shelter at the Muja displaced persons camp in Nyiragongo territory near Goma, North Kivu province in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in July. Photo: Reuters

Published: 3:33am, 8 Aug 2024Updated: 4:11am, 8 Aug 2024

The World Health Organization’s chief announced on Wednesday he was urgently convening an expert committee to advise on whether the growing mpox outbreak in Africa should be declared an international emergency.

Since last September, cases have surged in the Democratic Republic of Congo due to a strain of the virus which has now been detected in nearby African countries.

WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that given the spread outside the DR Congo, “and the potential for further international spread”, he had decided to convene an emergency committee.

“The committee will meet as soon as possible and will be made up of independent experts from a range of relevant disciplines from around the world,” he told a press conference.

The committee will advise him on whether the outbreak represents a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC) – the highest alarm the WHO can sound.

Jean Kakuru Biyambo, a father of six from the Muja internally displaced persons camp, has been receiving treatment against mpox in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Photo: Reuters

Only Tedros, as the WHO director general, can declare a PHEIC, based on the expert committee’s advice. A declaration then triggers emergency responses in countries worldwide under the legally binding International Health Regulations.