Africa aims to avert an mpox pandemic

Last month, when the world's most populus country, India, reported its first case of the new, highly transmissible clade Ib mpox variant, the challenge of containing the virus was once again evident. Only a few weeks before that in August, the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) declared mpox a public health emergency in response to its spread in Africa. Since then, cases of clade Ib mpox have been reported in Sweden, Thailand, and Pakistan. Although mpox is not yet a global pandemic, the new variant may tip the scales in that direction if the world does not act quickly to mitigate its spread in Africa.