Statement on Mpox (Monkeypox) from the International Academies of Emergency Dispatch (IAED)

23 August 2024

On August 14, 2024, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the current mpox (monkeypox) outbreak in Africa as a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC).¹ 

According to the WHO, “mpox (monkeypox) is an infectious disease caused by the monkeypox virus.  It can cause a painful rash, enlarged lymph nodes and fever. Most people fully recover, but some get very sick. 

Anyone can get mpox. It spreads from contact with infected: 

• persons, through touch, kissing, or sex
• animals, when hunting, skinning, or cooking them
• materials, such as contaminated sheets, clothes, or needles 
• pregnant persons, who may pass the virus on to their unborn baby 

In May 2022, an outbreak of mpox appeared suddenly and rapidly spread across Europe, the Americas and then all six WHO regions, with 110 countries reporting about 87 thousand cases and 112 deaths.”² 

Since 2022, the International Academies of Emergency Dispatch (IAED) has included an emergency dispatcher screening tool for monkeypox in the ProQA® software application of the Medical Priority Dispatch System (MPDS®). This screening Tool is contained in the Emerging Infectious Disease Surveillance (EIDS) Diagnostic Tool feature, which also contains screening Tools for COVID-19 and Ebola and will soon contain a specific screening Tool for measles, coming in November 2024. 

The IAED encourages all MPDS-user agencies to seek specific direction from their system medical director (or medical control authority) as to the manner and timing for using these screening Tools.   

National, state, provincial, and local health departments are also useful sources of information on when and if any of these disease screening tools are necessary for dispatch use.  

Please contact us directly should you have any questions regarding mpox screening in the dispatch environment.  

Greg Scott 
Chair, CBRN Fastrack Committee 
Academics, Research & Communications Division 
International Academies of Emergency Dispatch 
greg.scott@emergencydispatch.org 

Note: While the name monkeypox is used in the current release, it will be modified to the newer, more appropriate name ‘mpox’ in the next release.  

1. https://www.who.int/news/item/14-08-2024-who-director-general-declares-mpox-outbreak-a-public-health-emergency-of-international-concern
2. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/monkeypox 

How to select the monkeypox surveillance tool from the Emerging Infectious Disease Surveillance (EIDS) Tools screen in medical ProQA® software using the drop-down disease list: