‘Stay on the lookout’: Warning for Aussies as potentially deadly disease branded ‘global emergency’

One of Australia’s major health authorities has issued a warning over a potentially deadly disease recently declared a global health emergency.

NSW’s peak health authority has issued a major warning to Aussies after a potentially deadly disease was declared a global health outbreak.

World Health Organisation (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus recently declared an upsurge of mpox cases all over the world to be a public health emergency, after a major outbreak of the disease in the Congo and elsewhere in Africa.

Since 2022, there have been over 97,000 reported cases in many countries outside Africa, including Australia.

A recent uptick in mpox - formerly known as monkeypox - cases in Africa and the Congo, as well as in NSW, has prompted a warning for Aussies to be on the lookout for symptoms. Picture: AFP

Dr Jeremy McAnulty has urged anyone with even mild symptoms to immediately contact their GP or sexual health service for an appointment. Picture: NewsWire / Nikki Short

NSW Health has now issued a major warning for people to be aware of the symptoms of mpox - previously known as monkeypox - following a “recent increase” in infections.

There have been 93 notifications of mpox in NSW since June 1.

Before then, only one case had been detected this year.

NSW Health executive director of health protection Jeremy McAnulty said 56 mpox notifications were reported in 2022 and another 12 in 2023.

He said there had been an uptick in over 15,000 cases of mpox reported in central Africa this year - many from a new strain (clade 1b) of the virus.

However, this strain has not been detected in Australia.

“With the recent increase in cases, NSW Health is asking people who may be at risk of mpox to stay on the lookout for symptoms,” Dr McAnulty said.

“Mpox spreads through close skin-to-skin contact, including sexual contact, and often starts with small pimple-like skin lesions particularly in areas that are hard to see such as the genitals, anus or buttock.”

NSW Health says mpox mostly impacts men who have sex with men.

About 450 people have died of the clade 1 strain of mpox in the Democratic Republic of the Congo this year. Picture: AFP

Symptoms can include mild fever, headache, fatigue, or swollen lymph nodes and mouth ulcers or rectal pain.

In rare cases, the disease can cause death.

Mpox can spread to others until the lesions resolve, Dr McAnulty said.

“People who have any symptoms of mpox, even if they have had the mpox vaccine and even if mild, should immediately contact their GP or sexual health service for an appointment,” he said.

A free vaccine without the need for Medicare can be administered to those considered to be at higher risk of developing mpox.

Mpox has also been detected in other Australian states - Victoria recording a total of 190 cases since May.

Queensland Health has recorded 22 cases so far this year.

About 450 people have died of the clade 1 strain of mpox in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, while a returned traveller from Sweden tested positive to the strain on Thursday.

In Africa, four in 100 cases of clade 1 mpox has led to death, although this is a fall from a 10 per cent fatality rate of earlier outbreaks..