WHO has ended its declaration of a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) for Mpox, announced in August 2024, saying that cases in the most affected areas of Africa had leveled off or were declining.

However, continued vigilance in testing – along with regular supplies of vaccines and drug treatments remains essential to ensure that the outbreak of a new and more deadly strains of mpox remains under control, particularly in a period of diminished donor support for African health systems, the global health agency warned.

“This decision is based on sustained declines in cases and as in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and in other affected countries, including Burundi, Sierra, Leone and Uganda,” said WHO Director General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, at a press briefing on Friday, noting that he was lifting the emergency upon the recommendation of WHO’s Mpox Emergency Committee of experts, that had met Thursday.

“We also have a better understanding of the drivers of transmission, the risk factors for severity and the most affected countries have developed a sustained response capacity,” Tedros said.

But  “lifting the emergency declaration does not mean the threat is over, nor that our response will stop,” Tedros added, noting that only yesterday, Africa Centers for Disease Control had met and declared that mpox remains a “continental health emergency.”