The World Health Organisation (WHO) has declared an international public health emergency to combat a new fast spreading outbreak of mpox sweeping East and Central Africa, writes The Telegraph.

The UN body issued its highest level alert after a unanimous decision by scientists monitoring the escalating flare-up of the virus formerly called monkeypox.

Thousands of mpox cases and hundreds of deaths have been recorded in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in 2024 and in recent weeks infections have begun spreading to neighbouring countries.

The scale of the outbreak, and the potential for it to spread across the continent and beyond, have led the WHO to announce the eighth public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC) of the past two decades.

This year’s explosion in cases in the DRC was “something that should concern us all”, said Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director general of the WHO, as he announced the alert.

A PHEIC declaration is designed to help marshal resources for “extraordinary events” where the cross-border spread of a disease needs to be tackled with international action.

DRC has already recorded nearly 15,000 suspected cases with 511 deaths so far in 2024, and the spread and surge in cases has left many public health officials worried the virus may soon jump further afield.

The emergence of a new mutant strain, or clade, and indications that the virus is getting better at spreading from person to person have added to concerns.

Dr Tedros said: “The detection and rapid spread of a new clade of #mpox in eastern #DRC, its detection in neighbouring countries that had not previously reported mpox, and the potential for further spread within Africa and beyond is very worrying”.