Mpox - statistics & facts
In August 2024, the World Health Organization once again declared the outbreak of mpox, formerly known as monkeypox, a public health emergency of international concern. Mpox had previously been regarded as a public health emergency in July 2022, before being downgraded a few months later. Before this, the COVID-19 pandemic was the most recent declaration of this type. Cases of mpox have been reported across Europe, North America, and Asia, regions in which the virus is not endemic. Endemic in disease terms means it is continuously present in a particular geographic area or region. As of the end of June 2024, around 100 thousand confirmed cases of mpox had been reported around the world, with many more suspected cases. The increase in concern by the WHO has been fueled by a severe outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the discovery of a more contagious variant of the virus. On August 15, 2024, Sweden was the first country outside of Africa to report a case of this more contagious variant.
