Claim: The World Health Organization (WHO) declared that the recent outbreak of Monkeypox virus or mpox is a global pandemic.
Rating: FALSE
Why we fact-checked this: The video, which was posted on YouTube by user Marcus Rogers, has already accumulated 55,056 views, 3,700 likes, and 781 comments as of writing. YouTube user Marcus Rogers also has over 813,000 followers on the platform.
The video claimed that the outbreak of the mpox virus has been declared a global pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO). Rogers also drew parallelisms between the COVID-19 pandemic and the recent outbreak of mpox.
The facts: On August 14, 2024, the WHO declared the mpox outbreak as a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) in relation to its recent spread in the Democratic Republic of Congo and nearby African countries.
The PHEIC is the highest level of alert imposed by the WHO but it is considerably different from a pandemic.
PHEIC vs. pandemic: WHO COVID-19 technical lead Dr. Maria Van Kerkhove explains that a PHEIC recognizes the potential threat that a virus poses to countries around the world.
This is a specific designation by the WHO indicating a serious public health risk that could require a coordinated international response. The difference between the two is as follows:
- PHEIC. The WHO assesses whether an event constitutes a PHEIC based on several factors, including the severity of the public health risk, the potential for international spread, and the need for coordinated global interventions. Examples are when the COVID-19 pandemic was declared a PHEIC in January 2020, as were the Ebola outbreaks in West Africa and the Democratic Republic of Congo. The declaration of PHEIC focuses international attention on public health risks that require coordinated mobilization of resources by the international community for prevention and response.
- Pandemic. A pandemic is a disease outbreak that spreads across multiple countries and continents, affecting a large number of people. While it has no strict definition, a pandemic typically involves a new or emerging pathogen that causes significant morbidity and mortality and spreads easily. Examples are the COVID-19 pandemic, and the 1918 influenza pandemic.
The recent outbreak of the mpox virus is now prevalent in certain African countries and is rising slowly as more people get infected. For an outbreak to be classified as a pandemic, it must impact a large number of people across multiple countries or continents. It spreads rapidly and widely across the globe simultaneously.
The WHO has not declared the mpox outbreak as a pandemic, but countries are advised to create interventions to prevent it from spreading further, thus, the declaration of PHEIC.
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Not the first mpox outbreak. Mpox is a contagious disease that can result in a skin rash or sores. It may also be accompanied by symptoms such as fever or muscle pain. It was previously declared a PHEIC in 2022.
Experts emphasize that mpox is different from the COVID-19 pandemic as it often requires prolonged contact (such as through sexual intercourse) to be transmitted.
Why WHO declared the mpox outbreak a PHEIC: The declaration follows the emergence of a new, more virulent mpox strain known as “Clade 1b”. This strain has been spreading rapidly in Africa and beyond, raising concerns about its potential for further global transmission. (READ: EXPLAINER: Why is mpox an emergency again, and how worried should I be?)
Despite the recent outbreak of the new variant of the virus showing signs of being more transmissible among humans than its former strain counterparts, its possibility of being airborne is still undergoing extensive research. – Jerry Yubal Jr./Rappler.com
Jerry Yubal Jr. is a graduate of Aries Rufo Journalism fellow of Rappler for 2023-2024. This fact check was reviewed by a member of Rappler’s research team and a senior editor. Learn more about Rappler’s fact-checking mentorship program here.
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