World Health Organization official says regardless of strain, mpox is not the new COVID, as authorities know how to control its spread.
The mpox outbreak is not another COVID-19, says the World Health Organization, because much is already known about the virus and the means to control it.
While more research is needed on the clade 1b strain which triggered the UN agency into declaring a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC), the spread of mpox can be reined in, the WHO’s European director Hans Kluge said on Tuesday.
In July 2022, the WHO declared a PHEIC over the international outbreak of the less-severe clade 2b strain of mpox, which mostly affected gay and bisexual men. The alarm was lifted in May 2023.
“Mpox is not the new COVID,” Kluge insisted.
“We know how to control mpox. And, in the European region, the steps needed to eliminate its transmission altogether,” he told a media briefing in Geneva, via video-link.
Mpox, a viral infection that causes pus-filled lesions and flu-like symptoms, is usually mild but can kill.
The clade 1b variety of mpox has triggered global concern because it seems to spread more easily through routine close contact. A case of the variant was confirmed last week in Sweden and linked to a growing outbreak in Africa.
Kluge said that the focus on the new clade 1 strain gives Europe a chance to refocus on the less severe clade 2 variety, including better public health advice and surveillance.
About 100 new cases of the clade 2 mpox strain are now being reported in the European region every month, added Kluge.
Kluge said the predominant route of transmission remained close skin-to-skin contact.
But he said it was possible that someone in the acute phase of mpox infection, especially with blisters in the mouth, may transmit the virus to close contacts, by droplets, in circumstances such as in the home or hospitals.
“The modes of transmission are still a bit unclear. More research is required.”
WHO spokesperson Tarik Jasarevic said the WHO was not recommending the use of masks.
“We are not recommending mass vaccination. We are recommending to use vaccines in outbreak settings for the groups who are most at risk,” he added.
Africa may start vaccinations within days
The WHO declared an international health emergency on August 14, concerned by the rise in cases of clade 1b in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and its spread to nearby countries.
The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) on Tuesday said the DRC and other African countries could start vaccinating against mpox within days.
Africa CDC has been working with countries experiencing mpox outbreaks on logistics and communication strategies to roll out vaccine doses that are due to arrive following pledges by the European Union, vaccine maker Bavarian Nordic, the United States and Japan.
“We didn’t start vaccinations yet. We’ll start in a few days, if we are sure that everything is in place. End of next week vaccines will start to arrive in DRC and other countries,” Africa CDC Director General Jean Kaseya told a briefing.
“We need to make sure that the supply chain management, the logistics are ready…to ensure that this vaccine will be safely stored and can be safely administered to people who need them.”
He said studies on the efficacy of different vaccines would continue in Africa while shots are being administered, so countries better understand which shots are appropriate in their context.
African states reported more than 1,400 additional mpox cases over the past week, taking the total number of cases in the 12 African countries where mpox has been detected to almost 19,000 since the start of the 2024, an Africa CDC presentation showed.
