GMHC Statement on the World Health Organization (W.H.O.) Declaring Mpox Outbreak a Global Public Health Emergency

New York, NY—On Wednesday, August 14, the W.H.O. declared mpox a global public health emergency in response to an outbreak in Africa that started in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and has now spread to 12 neighboring African nations. Since the beginning of 2024, 14,000 mpox cases and 524 deaths have been reported in the DRC, with women and children under age 15 most at risk. By comparison, the global outbreak in 2022 affected nearly 100,000 people, primarily gay and bisexual men, in 116 countries, and killing about 200 people.  

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), due to limited international travel and lack of commercial flights from the DRC or its neighboring countries to the U.S., the risk of the current mpox outbreak spreading to the U.S. is very low. In fact, as of August 14 no cases of the mpox strain from the DRC have been reported outside central and eastern Africa. 

The quicker spread and higher death toll so far in 2024 may be because the current outbreak is a different strain of mpox, clade I, which is endemic in central Africa and known to be more transmissible. (Mpox has two distinct viral clades, I and II. A clade is a group of organisms believed to have evolved from a common ancestor or origin of which other organisms have evolved). A new version of that strain, clade Ib, is now spreading and appears to be more easily transmissible through routine close contact, which can include sexual contact.  

During the 2022 mpox outbreak, GMHC quickly saw the urgent need for a proactive response, drawing from years of experience combatting the HIV and AIDS epidemic. GMHC led advocacy and educations efforts, provided clear and non-stigmatizing information to communities about how to reduce risk and take care of others, and pushed for equitable distribution of vaccines and treatment for all. GMHC temporarily became a hub for vaccines at our Midtown Manhattan office and partnered with the White House National Mpox Response and NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene to offer mpox vaccines at GMHC’s annual Latex Ball in 2023. GMHC will continue to be a key source of resources and will provide updated information about the current mpox outbreak. 

Last week, the CDC issued a Health Alert Network (HAN) Health Update to provide additional information about the outbreak of mpox in the DRC. It recommends clinicians maintain a heightened sense of concern for their patients who were recently in the DRC or any neighboring country, and who are presenting with signs and symptoms consistent with mpox, which could include a rash located on the hands, feet, chest, face, mouth or near the genitals; fever; chills, swollen lymph nodes, fatigue; muscle aches and backache; and respiratory symptoms such a sore throat, nasal congestion, and cough. 

The CDC also recommends the mpox vaccine to people who believe they are at higher risk of exposure to it, which consists of two doses of the JYNNEOS vaccine 28 days apart. Additional JYNNEOS vaccine doses (“boosters,” more than two doses) are not currently recommended by the CDC.  

For those who have mpox symptoms, clinicians should counsel them to stay away from others and not share items they have touched with others, as well as clean and disinfect the spaces they occupy regularly to limit contamination.

For media inquiries and more information about GMHC’s work related to mpox, contact Krishna Stone: KrishnaS@GMHC.org; 917-774-3621.