On August 14, 2024, the World Health Organization declared Mpox, previously known as Monkeypox, a global health emergency due to a surge in cases across Africa. The announcement came after a meeting of the UN health agency`s emergency committee.  Originally identified over 50 years ago in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Mpox virus has been endemic in the region for decades. Recently, a new variant of the clade 1 strain, known as clade 1b, has emerged and is spreading in eastern Congo and neighboring countries that previously had no cases. Swedish authorities reported a case of the clade 1 variant on Thursday, 15th August, marking the first detection of this strain outside Africa. Despite this, they have assessed the public risk as low. Now let us understand what Mpox virus is, the symptoms and how they spread. Watch video