KFF Major outbreaks of mpox – the infectious disease previously called monkeypox – are ongoing in a number of African countries, in particular the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). In addition, several mpox cases linked to the DRC outbreak have now been identified in some non-African countries, including Sweden and Thailand. Due to these circumstances, in mid-August 2024, the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) each declared mpox to be a public health emergency requiring a globally coordinated response.
This is the second time mpox has been declared an international emergency, with the first spanning 2022-2023. The current mpox outbreak centered in the DRC is being driven by the “clade I” strain of the virus, with a clade Ia variant that is primarily affecting children and a more recently identified clade Ib variant that is spreading primarily via sexual contact among adults. The previous international emergency was driven by a “clade II” strain, and primarily affected adult gay and bisexual men. Currently, there is ongoing transmission of both clades affecting mostly different geographic areas.
The U.S. government has provided technical and financial assistance for mpox response in DRC and elsewhere for years. Following the emergency declarations it has increased this support, including by delivering 50,000 doses of mpox vaccine to the DRC and 10,000 doses to Nigeria, as well as providing $10 million in mpox response-specific funding. On September 24, President Biden also pledged to donate up to 1 million more vaccine doses and an additional $500 million in funding to support mpox response across Africa.
Since the emergency declarations, the Africa CDC, WHO, and governments of affected countries have accelerated efforts to respond to the situation by developing updated response plans, mobilizing more funds and attention from policymakers, and working to obtain more mpox vaccine doses. Still, the response faces a number of challenges including an uncertain path to delivering mpox vaccines at scale, lack of access to prevention tools, poor health infrastructure in many affected areas along with ongoing conflicts and instability, and high levels of distrust and misinformation in affected communities.
No cases of clade I mpox have been identified in the U.S. as of September 26, 2024, and the CDC estimates the risk to the general public in the U.S. from the current outbreak in African countries is very low. However, clade II mpox infections continue to occur in the U.S. primarily among adult gay and bisexual men, though case numbers have declined since the previous mpox emergency in 2022-2023.