What to know about mpox global health emergency

The World Health Organization (WHO) declared Wednesday the recent outbreak of mpox a global health emergency, warning that the new, more contagious strain of the virus could spread further internationally.

Nearly all of the reported cases and deaths — 96 percent — have so far been in Congo, where the outbreak originated.

But cases have been reported in several of its neighboring countries. In total, there have been more than 14,000 cases and 524 deaths in Africa this year, exceeding the total number recorded last year, according to the WHO.

And Sweden on Thursday recorded the first case outside Africa of the dangerous mpox variant, clade 1.

Here’s what to know about the mpox global health emergency:

What is mpox?

Mpox often affects rodents or nonhuman primates, such as monkeys, but can occur in people as well, according to the Mayo Clinic. Most cases have been reported in Central and West Africa.

There are two types of mpox: clades 1 and 2. Clade 1 typically causes more severe cases of the disease and has a higher likelihood of leading to death compared to clade 2.

The mpox outbreak that began in 2022 was caused by the less severe clade 2 virus. The global health emergency that the WHO declared this week is linked to the more severe clade 1 strain.

What are the symptoms?

Mpox is related to smallpox but usually causes milder symptoms, including fever, chills, body aches, swollen lymph nodes, fatigue, headache and respiratory symptoms.

Patients will often get a rash located on hands, feet, chest, face, mouth or near the genitals, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said. The rash will go through several stages, including scabbing, before it heals. The rash may look like pimples or blisters and may be painful or itchy, the CDC said.

In previous mpox outbreaks, lesions appeared mostly on chests, hands and feet, according to The Associated Press (AP). The new strain causes milder symptoms and is more likely to cause lesions on the genitals, which can make the disease more difficult to detect.

Placide Mbala Kingebeni, a Congolese researcher who led the research into the new form of mpox, told the AP that the disease might be able to more easily spread because it’s harder to spot.

How does it spread?

Mpox is not airborne and typically requires person-to-person contact to spread, including through sexual contact, household contact and contact within the health care setting without necessary protective equipment.

Transmission can also occur during hugging, massaging, kissing and during “prolonged face-to-face interactions (such as talking or breathing),” according to the CDC.

The virus can spread from someone with mpox through direct contact with objects, fabrics and surfaces, if the object is not first disinfected after use.

People can also contract the virus from contact with live or dead wild animals.

The incubation period is 3-17 days, meaning symptoms usually develop within 21 days of exposure to the virus. The CDC said people with flu-like symptoms will often develop a rash 1-4 days later.

A person is contagious from the time symptoms start until the rash “has fully healed and a fresh layer of skin has formed,” the CDC said.

What risk does the United States face?

The CDC said the U.S. public faces a “very low” risk from the mpox strain that originated in Congo. The assessment was last updated Thursday morning, after the WHO declared the global health emergency but before the first case outside Africa was reported in Sweden.

The risk assessment was made because of “the limited number of travelers” and the lack of direct commercial flights from the outbreak in Congo and neighboring countries.

“The risk might change as more information becomes available, or if cases appear outside central and eastern Africa,” the CDC said.

How should individuals protect themselves against transmission?

The CDC said people who have been vaccinated or who have already had mpox should be protected from the new strain emerging in African countries.

The CDC said the “best protection” is for eligible people to get two doses of the JYNNEOS vaccine.

People eligible include those with known or suspected exposure to someone with mpox; gay, bisexual or other men who have had sex with a transgender, nonbinary or gender-diverse person who, in the last 6 months, had either a new diagnosis of a sexually transmitted disease or more than one sex partner; and those who, in the last 6 months, had sex at a commercial sex venue or sex in a geographic area where mpox transmission is occurring.

People are also eligible to get the vaccine if they have a sex partner with the aforementioned risks or if they anticipate experiencing these risks. People at risk of certain occupational exposure are also eligible.