Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director General of the World Health Organization (WHO), briefs the media during a press conference organized by the Geneva Association of United Nations Correspondents (ACANU), at the World Health Organization (WHO) headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, Thursday, Aug. 7, 2025. (Salvatore Di Nolfi/Keystone via AP)
WHO chief says the mpox outbreak in Africa is no longer a global health emergency
GENEVA (AP) 鈥 The World Health Organization no longer considers the mpox outbreak in Africa to be an international health emergency, the U.N. agency’s director said Friday.
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director General of the World Health Organization (WHO), briefs the media during a press conference organized by the Geneva Association of United Nations Correspondents (ACANU), at the World Health Organization (WHO) headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, Thursday, Aug. 7, 2025. (Salvatore Di Nolfi/Keystone via AP)
GENEVA (AP) 鈥 The World Health Organization no longer considers the mpox outbreak in Africa to be an international health emergency, the U.N. agency’s director said Friday.
The new form of mpox emerged in Congo and neighboring African countries, spread through close contact including sex. WHO declared it a in August of last year.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told reporters Friday that an emergency panel created after the outbreak has advised that the situation is no longer an international emergency, and 鈥淚 have accepted that advice.鈥
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WHO鈥檚 international emergency declaration, the agency鈥檚 highest level of warning about threatening health issues, triggers the release of resources and enhanced public awareness campaigns among other measures.
鈥淥f course, lifting the emergency declaration does not mean the threat is over, nor that our response will stop,鈥 the WHO chief said.
is a rare disease caused by infection with a virus that鈥檚 in the same family as the one that causes smallpox.
It is endemic in parts of Africa, where people have been infected through bites from rodents or small animals. Milder symptoms can include fever, chills and body aches. In more serious cases, people can develop lesions on the face, hands, chest and genitals.
