Mpox outbreak remains global emergency as cases surge in Africa

AFRICA—The World Health Organization (WHO) has confirmed that the mpox virus epidemic continues to be a Public Health Emergency of International Concern.

This decision, made by the WHO International Health Regulations Emergency Committee on June 5, 2025, comes as over 37,000 confirmed cases have been reported since early 2024.

The emergency status will remain due to a rising number of cases, especially in West Africa, and the virus’s spread beyond the continent.

The epidemic began in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), which still accounts for a staggering 60% of confirmed cases and 40% of deaths with the virus causing severe flu-like symptoms and a distinctive rash.

While Uganda and Burundi are also heavily affected, Sierra Leone has recently seen a dramatic increase, reporting over 200 new confirmed cases in April 2025, which made up half of all African mpox cases by early May.

 The country experienced a 71% rise in cases in just one week, averaging about 100 new cases daily.

This surge prompted the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) to convene its Emergency Consultative Group (ECG) on May 17, 2025, to review the status of mpox as a public health emergency of continental concern.

The review was led by the Africa CDC’s Emergency Consultative Group (ECG), chaired by epidemiologist Professor Salim Abdool Karim, following a call for review by Africa CDC Director General Dr. Jean Kaseya.

This was the second such review since the designation was first made on August 13, 2024.

Although Burundi, Rwanda, and the Central African Republic showed signs of decline in February 2025, confirmed cases surged in Uganda, Nigeria, and the Republic of Congo.

A new, potentially more transmissible variant, Clade 1A, detected in the DRC in early 2025, is further complicating containment efforts.

In response, the Africa CDC and WHO have updated their Continental Response Plan. The revised plan focuses on outbreak control and vaccination expansion, aiming to reduce mpox incidence by 50% in endemic areas by August 2025.

This will be achieved through decentralizing diagnostics, enhancing community-level interventions like contact tracing and risk communication, and integrating mpox into routine health services.

To date, ten African countries have received vaccines, with seven actively conducting vaccination campaigns, including for high-risk groups and children.

Despite these efforts, the WHO highlights significant challenges, including insufficient monitoring capacity and funding gaps for treatment.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has stressed the need for continued international support to address these issues and prevent further spread.

The WHO’s temporary recommendations, valid until August 20, 2025, call for intensified political commitment, resource allocation, and enhanced emergency coordination across all administrative levels in affected countries.

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