The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) is actively monitoring the situation of mpox in India, conducting serosurveys and maintaining ongoing surveillance. Despite the WHO declaring mpox a global public health emergency, India has not reported any new cases since last year. The ICMR is collaborating with Serum Institute of India to develop a vaccine, and the country is taking proactive measures to prevent a major outbreak.
Pakistan has reported two new cases of mpox, bringing the total number of cases in the country to three. The latest cases were detected in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, where the first case was also reported. All three patients recently returned from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Health officials are tracing close contacts of the patients, including fellow passengers on their flights. Mpox is a viral disease that spreads through close contact with infected individuals or animals.
China has announced mandatory screenings for mpox at its borders, following the World Health Organization’s declaration of a global health emergency. This comes as a new, more dangerous variant of mpox was detected in Sweden, raising concerns about its spread.
Sweden has confirmed its first case of clade 1 mpox, a more severe strain of the virus previously only seen in Africa. This case, detected in Stockholm, was likely acquired during a trip to an area with an ongoing clade 1 outbreak. The World Health Organization (WHO) recently declared the clade 1 outbreaks in Africa a public health emergency, highlighting the seriousness of this strain. While Sweden’s health agency considers the risk to the general population low, they are closely monitoring the situation and will implement further measures if necessary.
The World Health Organization’s declaration of a public health emergency for the mpox outbreak has sent shockwaves through the healthcare market, causing several stocks associated with the virus to experience significant price fluctuations. While some companies, like Emergent Biosolutions and Bavarian Nordic, saw gains due to their involvement in vaccine production, others like SIGA Technologies faced setbacks after their antiviral treatment failed to meet a key trial endpoint.
Danish drugmaker Bavarian Nordic announced its readiness to produce up to 10 million doses of its mpox vaccine by 2025 following the World Health Organization’s declaration of a global health emergency due to a surge in the virus in Africa. The company currently has 500,000 doses in stock and awaits orders from concerned countries before initiating production.
Sweden has confirmed its first case of Mpox caused by the Clade I variant, marking the first such case outside of the African continent. This comes a day after the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the increasing spread of Mpox in Africa a global health emergency.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared mpox a public health emergency of international concern, the highest level of alert, due to a severe outbreak in Congo. The outbreak has seen over 27,000 cases and 1,100 deaths since January 2023, and a new, rapidly spreading strain has raised global concerns.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared mpox a public health emergency of international concern due to the rapid spread of the disease in Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo and neighboring countries. The declaration triggers a global response to contain the outbreak and provides resources to affected countries.
While the World Health Organization (WHO) and Africa CDC consider declaring the escalating mpox outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) an emergency, crucial vaccines might not reach the country for months due to limited supply, funding, and ongoing disease outbreaks. Despite the urgent need, experts fear that declarations alone might not translate into immediate action.
