The WHO on Thursday lifted its maximum alert level for the outbreak of mpox (formerly known as monkeypox), deeming it sufficiently under control almost a year after the start of its outbreak.
This epidemic "no longer represents a public health emergency of international concern," World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a news conference, following the recommendation of the WHO emergency committee.
Threat still present
This announcement comes exactly one week after the lifting of the WHO's highest alert level for Covid. "If the emergencies for mpox and Covid-19 are over, the threat of new waves remains for both. Both viruses continue to circulate and both continue to kill," Tedros warned.
Outbreaks of mpox had been found, starting in May 2022, in Europe and the United States, outside the dozen countries in Central and West Africa where the disease has long been endemic. A Public Health Emergency of International Concern was declared on 23 July 2022 by the WHO Director-General.
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Since then, the curve of contaminations has experienced a sharp ebb. There have been "nearly 90% fewer cases in the last three months compared to the previous three months," noted Dr. Tedros. So far, about 87,400 cases have been recorded in 111 countries and the disease has killed 140 people, according to the latest count, cited by the director-general.
The disease - endemic in some West and Central African countries - is characterized by rashes, which can appear on the genitals or in the mouth, and can be accompanied by outbreaks of fevers, sore throat or pain in the lymph nodes.
