In August, the World Health Organization declared the MPox outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo and several other African countries a public health emergency of international concern. This is the second time in two years that mpox, previously called monkeypox, has been listed by PHEIC. In 2022, mpox spread to multiple countries, including the United States, where transmission from that outbreak continues at a rate of about 250 cases per month.
Traditionally, mpox spreads mainly through direct contact with infected animals, but the 2022 outbreak found that the virus was transmitted from person to person through sexual contact. Last fall, health officials were alerted to the fact that sexual contact was also observed in transmission of the virus in a new outbreak in eastern DRC and neighboring countries.
In this video, STAT senior writer Helen Branswell answers the most frequently asked questions about what’s happening with mpox now and what can be done to stop this current outbreak.