How alarming Is Monkeypox Threat Perception?

As the world finally emerges from the grip of COVID-19, a new threat looms: Mpox (formerly known as Monkeypox).

- Ayesha Siddiqui

In August 2024, the World Health Organisation (WHO) declared Mpox a global health emergency due to the rising cases of the new strain, clade I Mpox in Africa and Sweden, underscoring the urgent need for coordinated global action to monitor and contain the virus. As of September 2024, 2082 confirmed Mpox cases were reported globally, marking the highest number of monthly cases globally since November 2022. Nearly 400 cases have been reported in Asia Pacific this year.How are Asia Pacific countries stepping up surveillance measures and preparing their healthcare systems to combat Mpox? And just how significant is the threat posed by this outbreak? Let’s explore.

Two years after the World Health Organization (WHO) declared a global health emergency over an Mpox outbreak, a deadlier strain, clade 1b, emerged in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) in September 2023. This came just months after the WHO had ended the 2022 global health emergency in May 2023. By August 2024, the new outbreak, largely concentrated in the DRC and its African neighbours, was declared a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC), sparking concerns of a wider spread similar to the 2022 outbreak, which affected 122 countries.

There are two clades of Mpox: clade I and clade II. Endemic to Central Africa, clade 1 is the most deadly, causing a severe illness and – in past outbreaks – killing up to 10 per cent of those who become unwell. Clade II, on the other hand, which had spread globally in 2022, has a survival rate of over 99.9 per cent and is endemic to West Africa. Five countries in Africa (Burundi, DRC, Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda) and three countries outside of Africa (Sweden, Thailand, India) have reported clade Ib monkeypox virus (MPXV) as of September 22, 2024.