Mpox continues to be a significant issue affecting people globally. The World Health Organization has released a new framework today to assist health authorities, communities, and other stakeholders in preventing and managing mpox outbreaks. The framework aims to eliminate human-to-human transmission of the disease and reduce the spread of the virus from animals to humans.
Mpox is a viral illness caused by the monkeypox virus (MPXV). It can lead to symptoms such as a painful rash, enlarged lymph nodes, and fever. While most people recover fully from mpox, some may become severely ill. The virus is transmitted through close contact, including sexual contact, between individuals. Additionally, animals in east, central, and west Africa serve as reservoirs for the virus, leading to sporadic spillovers to humans and subsequent outbreaks.
There are two distinct clades of the virus: clade I and clade II. Clade I outbreaks tend to be more severe than clade II outbreaks. A significant emergence of mpox linked to clade II began in 2017 and has since spread to all regions of the world. Although a Public Health Emergency of International Concern was declared between July 2022 and May 2023, cases and deaths linked to mpox continue to be reported, highlighting ongoing low-level transmission globally.
Presently, a major outbreak of the clade I virus is occurring in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), with cases steadily increasing over the years. Since the start of the year, over 6500 cases and 345 deaths have been reported in the DRC, with nearly half of these cases affecting children under 15 years old.
The Strategic Framework for Enhancing Prevention and Control of Mpox (2024–2027) provides a roadmap for managing mpox outbreaks in various settings, advancing research on mpox, access to treatments, and reducing zoonotic transmission of the virus.