Australian health authorities issue warning over rising mpox infections

Sydney: Health authorities in Australia's largest state on Friday issued a warning over a surge in mpox cases. New South Wales (NSW) Health asked the community to be aware of symptoms of mpox - formerly known as monkeypox - following an increase in infections.

There have been 93 notifications of mpox in NSW since the start of June. Prior to June, there had been only one confirmed mpox case in the state of 8.4 million people in 2024. In 2022 and 2023, there were a combined 68 confirmed cases of the potentially deadly disease in NSW, Xinhua news agency reported, citing the health body.

Jeremy McAnulty, NSW Health Executive Director of Health Protection, said in a statement that anyone experiencing symptoms of mpox - even those who have had a vaccine - should make an appointment with a doctor.

"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," he said.

"Some people experience mild fever, headache, fatigue, or swollen lymph nodes and mouth ulcers or rectal pain," McAnulty said. "Mpox can spread to others until the lesions resolve."

The World Health Organization on Wednesday declared a global health emergency in response to a severe outbreak of the viral disease in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

NSW Health said there have been over 15,000 cases of mpox reported in central Africa this year - many of which are due to the new clade 1b strain of the virus that has not been detected in Australia.

The mpox vaccine is free in NSW for people considered to be at higher risk of contracting the disease.