In August, the World Well being Group declared the mpox outbreak within the Democratic Republic of the Congo and a number of other different African international locations a public well being emergency of worldwide concern. That is the second time in two years that mpox, previously known as monkeypox, has been listed as a PHEIC. In 2022, mpox unfold by means of a number of international locations, together with the US the place transmission from that outbreak continues at a price of about 250 instances a month.
Historically mpox spreads primarily through direct contact with contaminated animals, however within the 2022 outbreak, the virus was seen to be transmitting from person-to-person by means of sexual contact. Final fall, well being officers had been alerted to the truth that sexual contact was additionally being seen in transmission of the virus in a brand new outbreak in jap DRC and neighboring international locations.
On this video, STAT senior author Helen Branswell solutions probably the most incessantly requested questions on what is occurring with mpox now and what will be carried out to cease this present outbreak.