Gabrielle Emanuel

Smallpox and mpox are related diseases — and the eradication of the former inadvertently creating an opening for the latter. At left: An illustration from 1884 depicts smallpox pustules on the face and hand of a woman. At right: A 1997 photograph shows the palms of a woman who contracted mpox during an outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The end of smallpox was ... the beginning for mpox

Gabrielle Emanuel

Wiping out smallpox had an unintended consequence: the rise of mpox in the past few years. Here's the story — starting with patient zero for mpox back in 1970.

In this 2014 photo, a Kenyan medical worker from the Infection Prevention and Control unit at a Nairobi hospital wears full gear when bringing a meal to a man in quarantine in isolation housing after coming into contact with a carrier of the Marburg virus.

Marburg outbreak: Fear of motorbike helmets, vaccine trial, U.S. travelers alert

Gabrielle Emanuel

Marburg is one scary disease. The fatality rate can be as high as 88%. There's no approved vaccine — yet. With one of the world's largest outbreaks, Rwanda is now testing a promising new vaccine.

In Bangladesh, turmeric — sold as the root or in a powder form — is a popular spice. In the 1980s, some farmers began adding a dye to make the root more attractive to buyers. But there was a problem with the dye.

You'll never guess the culprit in a global lead poisoning mystery

Gabrielle Emanuel

High levels of lead were found in a surprisingly large number of Bangladeshi kids in New York City — and in pregnant women in Bangladesh. Could there be a common cause?

A doctor discusses treatment for mpox with the mother of an infected infant at the Kavumu hospital in the Democratic Republic of Congo. For 18 months, the Congolese have struggled to control an epidemic of the disease without the benefit of vaccines. The majority of cases and deaths have been in children.

First doses of mpox vaccines arrive at the heart of Africa's outbreak. What took so long?

Gabrielle Emanuel

Congo has over 20,000 cases of mpox and hundreds of deaths, mostly in children, but zero vaccines until now. A planeload of doses donated from the EU landed in Kinshasa on Thursday.

Why is taking so long to get mpox vaccines to the epicenter of the crisis?

Gabrielle Emanuel

The U.S. and Europe have access to mpox vaccines, but the epicenter of the current mpox crisis in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has no doses yet.

Mpox surge declared a 'public health emergency of international concern' by WHO

Gabrielle Emanuel

The World Health Organization declared mpox, previously known as monkeypox, a public health emergency. Cases have been surging in the Democratic Republic of Congo, and spread to nearby countries.

WHO declares mpox emergency of international concern

Gabrielle Emanuel

On Wednesday, the WHO said an outbreak of mpox in several African countries is serous enough to constitute a public health emergency of international concern.

The palms of a patient with mpox during an outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo in 1997. The country is now seeing a dramatic spike in mpox — with a strain that is deadlier than the one that sparked the global outbreak in 2022.

WHO declares 2024 mpox surge a 'public health emergency of international concern'

Gabrielle Emanuel

"What we're seeing is tip of the iceberg" because of weaknesses in the surveillance system, says Dr. Dimie Ogoina, chair of the WHO's emergency committee.

Mpox outbreak grows in Africa

Gabrielle Emanuel

On Tuesday, it's expected that Africa CDC will announce that Mpox is a health emergency of "continental" concern. An outbreak in the DRC has spread to four countries that have never had Mpox.

Nurse Christian Musema takes a sample from a child declared a suspected case mpox at the treatment center in Munigi in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where the virus has been surging. Cases have also been identified in four other countries in East Africa.

Alarmed by mpox surge, Africa CDC declares a 'continental emergency'

Gabrielle Emanuel

This is the first time Africa CDC has announced a "continental emergency." The World Health Organization is considering a similar declaration.