Mpox virus outbreak: Cases of deadly new variant spread across the globe as Asia ramps up border controls in airports

A £3.1 million UK Government package to tackle mpox will “ultimately benefit us all”, the Africa minister has said.

On a visit to the Institut National de Recherche Biomedicale in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Lord Collins of Highbury pledged money to prevent the spread of the disease, which was previously known as monkeypox.

Lord Collins said on his visit to Kinshasa: “Working together with our partners and using the expertise and dedication of Congolese scientists, including those at the world-leading research centre I have visited in DRC, our support will play an important role in ensuring global health security for all.

“By protecting the health and wellbeing of communities across DRC, and by helping contain these outbreaks, we reduce the risk of diseases spreading further afield. This will ultimately benefit us all.”

According to the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, the cash package will benefit more than 4.4 million people in already-affected communities, as part of a partnership with Unicef.

The World Health Organisation on Wednesday declared mpox a global health emergency in response to the growing number of cases both in Africa and other continents.

Mpox belongs to the same family of viruses as smallpox but causes milder symptoms like fever, chills and body aches. People with more serious cases can develop characteristic lesions on the face, hands, chest and genitals.

Here’s everything you need to know:

Countries across Asia are ramping up their defenses against mpox following the detection of a potentially more dangerous variant.

Thailand has reported its first suspected case of the new clade 1b variant, prompting a swift action from regional health authorities.

Asian nations are intensifying surveillance and preventive efforts. The rapid spread of the new mpox strain in Africa led the World Health Organisation to declare a public health emergency last week.

South Korea has begun monitoring passengers from high-risk African countries, including Ethiopia, Kenya and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Taiwan has responded by stockpiling vaccines and launching targeted immunisation campaigns for high-risk groups, including healthcare workers.

Pakistan said it is introducing new screening at airports after confirming at least one case of mpox infection.

Mpox was first detected in humans in the DRC in 1970 and is considered endemic to countries in Central and West Africa.

However, WHO said the recent surge of cases in DRC and its spread to neighbouring countries constitutes a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC) under the International Health Regulations (2005) on Wednesday.

According to WHO, mpox has been reported in DRC for more than 10 years, with the number of cases increasing steadily over the period.

So far in 2024, there have been more than 15,600 cases of mpox and 537 deaths, which the WHO said exceeds last year’s total.

There have also been 100 lab-confirmed cases of clade 1b in four countries neighbouring the DRC that have not reported mpox before: Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda.

Airline pilots operating to countries affected by mpox are being urged to “familiarise themselves with the key facts” on the disease, as compiled by the World Health Organisation (WHO).

A bulletin has been issued by the International Federation of Air Line Pilots’ Associations (Ifalpa), saying: “The WHO has just determined that the upsurge of Mpox in the Democratic Republic of Congo constitutes a Public Health Emergency of International Concern, following the emergence and rapid spread of a new virus strain.

“Several outbreaks of mpox have occurred in different countries, with different modes of transmission and different levels of risk.”

Pilots have been told to read up on transmission, signs and symptoms, treatment, vaccination, self-care and prevention.

Ifalpa says: “The WHO does not recommend any international travel restriction measures at this time.”

Before the spring of 2022, cases in the UK were usually associated with travel to or from West or Central Africa.

However, in May of that year sustained transmission of the virus was identified in the UK, leading to a large outbreak mostly in men who are gay, bisexual or have sex with other men.

A vaccination programme was launched in the UK in the summer of 2022 and closed the following July.

According to the UKHSA, there were 3,732 confirmed and highly probable mpox cases reported in the UK up to December 31, 2022. In 2023 and up to July 31 this year, 286 cases were reported.

Of these, 269 were in England – with 116 patients presumed to have caught the virus in the UK and 82 outside of the country.

A £3.1 million UK Government package to tackle mpox will “ultimately benefit us all”, the Africa minister has said.

On a visit to the Institut National de Recherche Biomedicale in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Lord Collins of Highbury pledged money to prevent the spread of the disease, which was previously known as monkeypox.

Lord Collins said on his visit to Kinshasa: “Working together with our partners and using the expertise and dedication of Congolese scientists, including those at the world-leading research centre I have visited in DRC, our support will play an important role in ensuring global health security for all.

“By protecting the health and wellbeing of communities across DRC, and by helping contain these outbreaks, we reduce the risk of diseases spreading further afield. This will ultimately benefit us all.”

According to the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, the cash package will benefit more than 4.4 million people in already-affected communities, as part of a partnership with Unicef.