LEILA FADEL, HOST:
The World Health Organization has declared mpox, formerly known as monkeypox, a public health emergency of international concern. It's a designation they reserve for the most worrisome disease outbreaks - think of Zika and Ebola. NPR's Gabrielle Emanuel has more about yesterday's announcement.
GABRIELLE EMANUEL, BYLINE: For 10 years, the Democratic Republic of Congo has seen the number of mpox cases creep up, but lately, it's skyrocketed - officially 14,000 cases, and more than 500 deaths so far this year. The majority of those getting sick are little kids.
SALIM ABDOOL KARIM: The number of cases, the number of deaths - they are just the tip of the iceberg.
EMANUEL: That's Salim Abdool Karim. He chaired an emergency group convened by the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
KARIM: We have limited surveillance. We have limited capacity to do the testing that's required.
EMANUEL: In addition to escalating cases, there are two big reasons officials are alarmed. First, the virus, which can cause painful skin lesions and flu-like symptoms, has started to pop up in nearby countries that have never reported mpox before - Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda, Burundi. Mapping how this virus is spreading reveals worrisome parallels with how HIV took off. For example, truck drivers have brought it across borders. The second concern is that the virus is evolving. Unlike the type of mpox that spread globally a few years ago, the virus in this outbreak hasn't been spreading through sexual contact - that is, until now. It's also not showing up on the traditional diagnostic tests. The WHO's Maria van Kerkhove says scientists are scrambling.
MARIA VAN KERKHOVE: We need a much better understanding of the epidemiology in the affected countries.
EMANUEL: She says knowing who is most at risk will be key to allocating the very limited supply of mpox vaccines. Right now, there are not any doses available, but they are supposed to start arriving in Africa soon. Jean Kaseya, director general of Africa CDC, says there is not much time to contain this virus.
JEAN KASEYA: Let me be clear - this is not just an African issue. Mpox is a global threat, a menace that knows no boundaries, no race, no creed.
EMANUEL: The hope is that this new emergency declaration will help coordinate response efforts and bring more urgency. Gabrielle Emanuel, NPR News. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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