--- title: "The World Health Organization Just Declared a New Global Emergency" description: "For the second time in just over two years, the World Health Organization has declared an outbreak of mpox, which was formerly known as monkeypox, a global emergency. As the New York Times and other outlets report, this second outbreak has already resulted in 14,000 cases and 524 deaths in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) […]" date: "2024-08-14" modified: "2024-08-14" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/neoscope/who-declares-second-mpox-emegency" categories: - "Developments" - "Health & Medicine" tags: - "epidemics" - "monkeypox" - "mpox" - "viruses" - "world health organization" --- # The World Health Organization Just Declared a New Global Emergency ![For the second time in just over two years, the WHO has declared an outbreak of mpox, formerly known as monkeypox, a global emergency. ]() *\Image: Joshua Lott / Washington Post via Getty\* For the [second time]() in just over two years, the World Health Organization has declared an outbreak of mpox, [formerly known as monkeypox](), a global emergency. As the [*New York Times*]() and [other outlets report](), this second outbreak has already resulted in 14,000 cases and 524 deaths in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) alone. Compared to the 100,000 people worldwide who contracted mpox and roughly 200 who died from it in 2022, this year's strain of the virus — which like its predecessor can cause lymph swelling, fever, respiratory symptoms, muscle aches, and rashes — is significantly more virulent. Both in 2022 and this year, Congo's specific strains of mpox have been more severe, the *NYT* notes. In that country, however, this year's outbreak seems to be even worse, with a death rate of roughly three percent compared to the 0.2 percent death rate back in 2022. Thus far, mpox has spread to 13 countries on the African continent, though as the [*Associated Press* notes]() in its reporting, 96 percent of them are in the DRC. WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a [media briefing]() that the rapidity of spread this time around is concerning, especially because women and girls are now the most at-risk groups for contracting the primarily sex-spread disease that previously was mostly contained to gay and bisexual men. "The detection and rapid spread of a new clade of mpox in eastern DRC, its detection in neighboring countries that had not previously reported mpox, and the potential for further spread within Africa and beyond is very worrying," Ghebreyesus. The current strain of mpox was detected for the first time last year, the *NYT* notes, and was found to be equally occurrent in both men and women for the first time. It seems to have mutated, [per genetic analyses](), sometime in September to become more easily spread, and has done so in part [due to heterosexual sex work](). Thus far, this strain has not yet been detected outside of Africa, and with the [DRC approving two new mpox vaccines]() geared towards this outbreak earlier in the summer, epidemiologists are hoping it'll stay that way. "This outbreak has been smoldering for quite a long time, and we continually have missed opportunities to shut it down," Nicole Lurie, the executive director of the vaccine-financing nonprofit Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations, explained in an interview with the *NYT*. "I’m really glad that everybody is now paying attention and focusing their efforts on this." Indeed, given that the virus continued to spread to the point that it [mutated to become more virulent and deadly](), it seems clear that some [opportunities to contain it must have been missed](). **More on virulence:** [*Deranged Politicians Are Trying to Ban Wearing Masks*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()