WHO declares end to mpox emergency, though scientists warn of potential for ‘resurgence’ – CBC

87,000 infections, 140 deaths reported from more than 100 countries during unprecedented outbreak

May 11, 2023

After the World Health Organization (WHO) opted to end COVID-19’s designation as a global public health emergency last week, the organization declared an end to another emergency on Thursday: mpox, the painful, potentially deadly disease formerly known as monkeypox.

A separate group of scientists for the health agency signalled that the global outbreak is now under control.

But while mpox may have faded from the headlines — and from public consciousness — experts say there’s still cause for concern if countries scale back surveillance and vaccination efforts at a time when the virus remains in global circulation.

“When case counts started declining, especially in the global north, people gradually became disinterested in the outbreak,” said physician-scientist Dr. Dimie Ogoina, a professor of medicine at Niger Delta University, who was among the first clinicians to raise alarms about the sudden, unusual spread of mpox in Nigeria six years ago, before it exploded globally.

Read more: https://www.cbc.ca/news/health/who-ends-mpox-emergency-1.6839923