According to reports, on August 15, World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus held a press conference and announced that the rapidly spreading mpox variant outbreak in Africa has constituted a "public health emergency of international concern," which is also the highest-level global epidemic alert under the framework of the International Health Regulations.

The WHO Director-General said that over the past decade, the Democratic Republic of the Congo has continuously reported mpox cases, with the number steadily increasing. However, starting last year, the number of reported mpox cases in the country increased substantially. The number of cases reported so far this year has already exceeded last year's total, with more than 14,000 infections and 524 deaths at the same time.

In addition, a new mpox variant has emerged in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and is spreading rapidly. At the same time, in neighboring countries of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where no mpox cases had been reported in the past, this variant has also been reported, proving that the virus also has the possibility of further spreading in Africa and other parts of the world. It also called on African countries to take urgent action to avoid the continued spread of the mpox outbreak across the African continent.

At present, according to data provided by the Africa CDC, 16 countries and regions in Africa have reported more than 17,500 suspected and confirmed mpox cases, with most cases and deaths occurring in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Compared with 2023, the mpox cases reported in Africa this year have increased by 160%.

It is understood that after the first human infection with mpox virus was discovered in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in 1970, the virus mainly circulated in western and central Africa, and the virus spreads from person to person, as well as through infected animals and contaminated items. However, in May 2022, more than 100 countries and regions around the world reported mpox cases, and the World Health Organization (WHO) announced in July 2022 that the mpox outbreak constituted a "public health emergency of international concern," and it was not until May 2023 that this status was lifted.

However, as the virus continues to spread and evolve, mpox has evolved into two genetic clades, and the clade associated with the latest round of mpox outbreaks has a higher fatality rate. The 2022 mpox outbreak affected nearly 100,000 people worldwide and caused close to 200 deaths, while the latest mpox outbreak is more deadly, with more than 500 deaths reported so far. The mortality rate of this variant is close to 3%, roughly 15 times that of the 2022 outbreak, with women and children under 15 at higher risk of death.

Although the mpox outbreak is currently mainly prevalent in Central and West Africa, it has already spread to some East African countries, such as Kenya, and mpox cases have been reported. East Africa is a major hub of Africa's coffee industry, and the current mpox outbreak will severely affect the development of the coffee industry.

In East Africa's coffee-producing countries, most are dominated by smallholder farmers, with coffee planted around their homes. If they are infected with mpox, given the virus's incubation period, it will last 6 to 13 days. During these days, the coffee plants will be left unattended, causing coffee yields and quality to decline.

In addition, African coffee attracts many coffee traders and bean hunters to visit, but due to the mpox outbreak, there may be potential dangers, cross-border trade is hindered, and local coffee processing plants may face problems such as labor shortages and supply chain disruptions, seriously hindering the development of the coffee industry in the African region.