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Mpox is a viral zoonotic disease, caused by monkeypox virus, recognized as the most important orthopoxvirus infection after the eradication of smallpox.
This course offers public health officers and health workers in-depth information to understand the epidemiology, modes of transmission, clinical presentation, diagnostics, and treatment of mpox, as well as the strategies needed for effective prevention and outbreak investigation and response.
Photo credit: WHO / Mark V. Szczeniowski
The content and scope of this course on mpox have been tailored for outbreaks in African countries where the disease is endemic. The course material was last updated in 2021 and may not reflect most recent WHO guidance issued for the multi-country outbreak in 2022 and the recent upsurge of mpox in the African region in 2024.
Following a series of consultations with global experts, WHO will begin using a new preferred term “mpox” as a synonym for monkeypox. This course was last updated in 2021 and will be updated to reflect this change of name. In the meantime, any reference to monkeypox across the course materials should be read as mpox.
This course is also available in the following languages:
Français - Spanish - Русский - العربية - português - 中文
Overview: Mpox mainly occurs in forested rural areas in central and Western Africa. Since the cessation of smallpox vaccination, the rising incidence of reported cases and outbreaks are raising concerns about the future spread of the disease. Despite higher risks in endemic areas, mpox remains under-recognized and underreported. Optimal supportive care is critical to improve the clinical course of mpox and avoid the most severe complications for persons affected.
Course duration: Approximately 3 hours.
Certificates: A Record of Achievement will be available to participants who score at least 80% of the total points available in the course assessment.Participants who receive a Record of Achievement can also download an Open Badge for this course. Click here to learn how.
Please note that a short introductory overview of mpox is also available in English and French.
A short course providing a general overview of mpox, with a focus on new information on the disease and lessons learned from the global outbreak 2022-2023 is now available here
This e-learning course was prepared by the following WHO personnel: Rosamund Lewis, Alexandra Hill, Nohelly Nombela, Bernard Onoja and Nikola Sklenovska, with the additional support of Melinda Frost, Marta Lado, Alice Simniceanu, Tieble Traore, Maria Van Kerkhove and Karin Von Eije. WHO wishes to thank the following partners for their contributions and technical support: Placide Mbala-Kingebeni, Institut National de Recherche Biomédicale, Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo; Dimie Ogoina, Niger Delta University Teaching Hospital, Bayelsa, Nigeria; Adesola Ogunleye, Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, Nigeria; Jake Dunning, University of Oxford, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland; Jeffrey Doty, Andrea McCollum and Brett Peterson, the United States (USA) Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia, USA. WHO wishes to thank Neting, The E-learning Solution, for support in putting together this package.