Mpox outbreaks in Africa could be ended in 6 months, WHO chief says

GENEVA (AP) — The head of the World Health Organization believes the ongoing mpox outbreaks in Africa might be stopped in the next six months. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said Friday the agency’s first shipment of vaccines should arrive in Congo within days. Africa has received just a tiny fraction of the vaccines needed to slow the spread of the virus. Congo has the most cases — more than 18,000 suspected cases and 629 deaths. WHO declared the ongoing mpox outbreaks in Africa a global emergency, hoping to spur a robust global response to the disease on a continent where cases have been spreading largely unnoticed for years.