The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC), its highest level of alert, due to a new variant of the mpox viral disease in Africa.

The WHO on Wednesday said mpox cases have been found in 13 African countries and its new form is spreading. It is the second time in two years the organisation has issued the alert for the disease.

It comes after an outbreak of the viral infection in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) that has spread to neighbouring countries.

“Today, the emergency committee met and advised me that in its view, the situation constitutes a public health emergency of international concern. I have accepted that advice,” WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. Tedros told a news conference.

“This is something that should concern us all,” he said.

“WHO is committed in the days and weeks ahead to coordinate the global response, working closely with each of the affected countries, and leveraging our on-the-ground presence, to prevent transmission, treat those infected, and save lives,” Tedros added.

The PHEIC declaration can accelerate research, funding and international public health measures and cooperation to contain a disease. It triggers emergency responses in countries worldwide under the legally binding International Health Regulations.

Mpox can spread through close contact between individuals. While usually mild, it can be fatal in rare cases. It causes flu-like symptoms and pus-filled lesions on the body.

The DRC outbreak began with a strain known as clade I, but a new variant clade Ib appears to be spreading more easily.

The strain has so far been detected in Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda.

Earlier this week, Africa’s top public health body declared an mpox emergency for the continent after warning that the viral infection was spreading at an alarming rate.

More than 17,000 suspected mpox cases and 517 deaths have been reported on the African continent so far this year, a 160 percent increase in cases compared with the same period last year, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention said.

Speaking to Al Jazeera, Ngashi Ngongo, the chief of staff of the regional health body, said an agreement had been reached with the EU’s health task force and mpox vaccine manufacturer Bavarian Nordic to provide an initial 215,000 doses of the inoculant to Africa.

He said that they were still negotiating a deal for the continent to receive two million doses by the end of the year, and ten million by the end of 2025.

“We are also planning to saturate the media, both television and the radio, to make sure that all those that have access to those media can also receive the message,” Ngongo said.

“But remember that 96 percent of cases are in the DRC, and 60 percent of those cases are among the young people below the age of 18,” he added, “so we’re also using social media to ensure that the young people are also reached.”

Second alert in two years

A different form of the mpox virus – clade IIb – spread globally in 2022, largely through sexual contact among men who have sex with men.

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 about 90,000 cases.

Amid the most recent outbreak, the Red Cross has said it was scaling up preparedness measures across Africa, particularly in the eastern DRC.

The International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies voiced “profound concern” about the spread of the virus.

The organisation pledged to “play a crucial role in containing the spread of the disease, even in the hard-to-reach areas where the need is the greatest”.