GENEVA, Switzerland (AFP) — The World Health Organization (WHO) on Wednesday declared the mpox surge in Africa a global public health emergency, sounding its highest possible alarm over the worsening situation.

Worried by the rise in cases in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and the spread to nearby countries, the WHO hastily convened a meeting of experts to study the outbreak.

“Today, the emergency committee met and advised me that in its view, the situation constitutes a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC). I have accepted that advice,” WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a press conference.

A PHEIC is the highest level of alarm under the International Health Regulations, which are legally binding on 196 countries.

“The detection and rapid spread of a new clade of mpox in eastern DRC, its detection in neighboring countries that had not previously reported mpox, and the potential for further spread within Africa and beyond is very worrying,” Tedros said.

“It’s clear that a coordinated international response is essential to stop these outbreaks and save lives.”

Formerly called monkeypox, the virus was first discovered in humans in 1970 in what is now the DRC.

Mpox is an infectious disease caused by a virus transmitted to humans by infected animals but can also be passed from human to human through close physical contact. The disease causes fever, muscular aches and large boil-like skin lesions.

Mpox is the second PHEIC in succession on mpox — albeit one focused on a different, and more deadly, strain of the virus.

In May 2022, mpox infections surged worldwide, mostly affecting gay and bisexual men, due to the clade 2b subclade.

The WHO declared a public health emergency which lasted from July 2022 to May 2023. The outbreak, which has now largely subsided, caused some 140 deaths out of around 90,000 cases.

The clade 1b subclade, which has been surging in the DRC since September 2023, causes more severe disease than clade 2b, with a higher fatality rate.