Mpox outbreak: Ministers meet to discuss UK plan amid global health emergency

Government officials have met to discuss the UK’s plans for a potential mpox outbreak after the World Health Organisation (WHO) declared a global health emergency.

Among officials tojoin ministers from the health and foreign departments was chief medical officer Sir Chris Whitty – a familiar face from the Covid pandemic.

Downing Street said they met to ‘ensure sufficient plans are in place to deal with any potential cases’. NHS staff have also started to stockpile the mpox vaccine as cases of the virus spread across the world.

The Clade 1 mpox variant spreads faster and has a higher mortality rate in comparison to the milder version of the outbreak that was recorded in Europe, Australia, the US and many other countries in 2022.

This second, more deadly strain is now endemic in central Africa and is behind the recently discovered variant in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Mpox has spread to Sweden while cases have also been reported in Pakistan and the Philippines.