After a World Health Organisation (WHO) emergency committee meeting last week on the mpox upsurge in Africa, the group’s director-general has accepted the recommendation that a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC) under International Health Regulations is still warranted.
The WHO first declared the PHEIC for the escalating situation in Africa in August 2024, and its meeting last week was the fourth to discuss the latest developments on the outbreaks, now affecting 25 countries on the continent, most recently in West Africa, including a large one in Sierra Leone.
The emergency committee also tweaked its temporary recommendations that apply to, but are not limited to, countries experiencing sustained transmission and those with clusters of cases or sporadic clade 1b travel-related cases, reports CIDRAP.
In August, the Africa Centres for Disease Prevention and Control (CDC) also declared the region’s first public health emergency of continental concern, and its emergency committee has also been reviewing the latest developments and possible new response recommendations.
CIDRAP article – WHO extends mpox emergency for African surge (Open access)
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Sierra Leone declares mpox emergency
Urgent global action needed stop npox pandemic