WHO to convene International Health Regulations Emergency Committee on new Mpox variant
The World Health Organisation’s (WHO) Director General announced that he is convening an emergency committee to advise on whether the new outbreak of Monkeypox (Mpox) constitutes a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC).
Director General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, speaking at the WHO’s regular monthly press conference on global health issues (7 August), announced that he was convening an International Health Regulations Emergency Committee, to advise him on whether the outbreak of a new and potentially more serious strain of Mpox, should be declared a PHEIC.
“Since the beginning of the year there have been more than 14,000 reported cases and 511 deaths reported, this is more than all of last year,” said Tedros.
“In the past month, more than 50 confirmed or suspected cases have been reported in four previously unaffected countries neighbouring the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC): Burundi, Rwanda, Kenya, and Uganda,” he added.
Responding to a question on how the situation could impact Europe in July, the Executive Director of WHO’s Health Emergencies Programme, Dr Michael Ryan said, “This should be a relatively straightforward disease to control through classic public health measures and interventions, especially for those with access to vaccines.”
Though easier to address in Europe, Ryan urged governments to invest now, before the disease spread and became more expensive to control.
In response to the same question, Dr Maria Van Kerkhove, WHO director of epidemic and pandemic preparedness and prevention said, “If I am cynical, we can see what happened when we saw cases across Europe and only then the world started paying attention.”
The disease is estimated to have a 3.6% fatality rate and poses particular dangerous to those under 15 accounting for 88% of deaths. WHO has sanctioned the emergency use of two vaccines, requesting $15 million in support to tackle the disease. So far recommendations for tackling Mpox, do not include travel restrictions on affected countries.
What is a PHEIC?
A public health emergency of international concern as defined by the International Health Regulations (2005) needs to meet three main criteria. It must present an extraordinary development in terms of seriousness, suddenness or unusualness, it must have an actual or potential international impact and require an international response.
The Emergency Committee is made up of experts who judge whether the development meets PHEIC criteria and make recommendations on how to address the emergency. These recommendations automatically expire after three months, but can be extended by the committee if deemed necessary.
2022 outbreak in Europe
An outbreak of Mpox was declared a PHEIC by WHO in July 2022, the virus was a variant stemming from a clade II variant of the virus, the current announcement concerns a new variant of an earlier clade I virus that has been in circulation in the DRC for many years.
The 2022 outbreak reached Europe, and was brought swiftly under control by government action through the involvement of those communities most vulnerable to transmission, primarily men who were having sex with men, however the virus can also be spread by close face-to-face interactions. PHEIC status was lifted on 10 May 2023.
Read more with Euractiv
