Health stocks are surging after the WHO declared monkeypox a global emergency – Quartz

A sign announcing monkeypox vaccination is setup in Tropical Park by Miami-Dade County and Nomi Health on August 15, 2022. Image: Joe Raedle / Staff ( Getty Images ) In This Story

The stocks of two vaccine makers surged on Thursday after the World Health Organization (WHO) upgraded a Mpox (formerly known as monkeypox) outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to a public health emergency of international concern.

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Shares of the Denmark-based vaccine maker Bavarian Nordic spiked 17% on Thursday in Copenhagen. And the stock of the U.S. pharma company Emergent BioSolutions (EBS) rose 6% on Thursday.

Bavarian Nordic and Emergent BioSolutions are the makers of the only two vaccines that the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends for Mpox.

The stock moves come just a day after the WHO determined an upsurge in Mpox cases in the DRC and other countries in Africa constitute an international public health emergency. This was the WHOs second public health emergency for Mpox in two years.

A new variant of Mpox, known as clade Ib, has emerged and appears to be more contagious than previous variants.

The emergence of a new clade of mpox, its rapid spread in eastern DRC, and the reporting of cases in several neighbouring countries are very worrying, said WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesu in a statement. On top of outbreaks of other mpox clades in DRC and other countries in Africa, its clear that a coordinated international response is needed to stop these outbreaks and save lives.

This new variant has been found in DRC, Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, and Uganda.

Swedens public health agency confirmed on Thursday its first case of the strain, marking the first occurrence of this strain outside of Africa.

Mpox is an viral disease that spreads between animals and people. It symptoms include fever, chills, muscle aches, and a rash that can look like pimples or blisters, according to the CDC.

Bavarian Nordics CEO Paul Chaplin told Bloomber on Wednesday that the company is able to meet the vaccine needs of this outbreak.

We have inventory and we have the capabilities. What were missing are the orders, said Chaplin

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Health stocks are surging after the WHO declared monkeypox a global emergency - Quartz