Photo credit: Reuters
August 20, 2024
Experts are deeply concerned about the new strain of mpox (formerly known as monkeypox) that is spreading rapidly around the world, from the Democratic Republic of Congo to Sweden, but say they know how to control it, unlike Covid-19.
This was announced on Tuesday by the Director of the European Division of the World Health Organization (WHO), Hans Kluge.
According to him, the spread of mpox can be stopped and panic can be prevented through joint and timely efforts, in particular, by delivering vaccines to the most vulnerable regions.
An outbreak of the strain, dubbed Clade Ib, occurred several months ago in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where the disease has already killed at least 500 people.
By the end of June, cases of infection had been recorded in a total of 116 countries, including the Central African Republic, Burundi, Kenya and Rwanda.
In early August, the strain was identified in Sweden, but the number of cases has not been reported.
There are no cases of mpox in Britain yet, but British scientists warn that although little is known about the Clade Ib strain, it appears to spread faster than other strains and cause more severe illness.
Experts say the spread of the virus is inevitable unless global action is taken.
Another strain of monkeypox, Clade II, caused an outbreak in 2022. The outbreak originated in Europe and spread to countries in North and South America and to individual countries on other continents.
As a result, 87 thousand people in 110 countries fell ill with monkeypox in 2022, 112 of whom died.
According to WHO expert Hans Kluge, any strain of the mpox virus can be controlled provided that non-discriminatory epidemiological measures are in place and a vaccine is available.
The virus causes chills, fever, rash and other skin lesions, and is spread through physical contact, including sex.
Vaccine yes, masks no
The risk of infection for the general population remains low, Kluge said.
“Are we going to introduce a quarantine in the WHO European region, are we dealing with another Covid-19? Definitely not,” he assures.
“Two years ago, we took control of mpox in Europe through direct engagement with the most affected communities of men who have sex with men,” he recalled.
According to Kluge, around 100 new cases of group II disease are currently being registered in the European region every month.
Travellers visiting affected areas of Africa are advised to consider vaccination.
WHO spokesman Tarik Jasarevic said that in the case of mpox, WHO does not recommend mass vaccination, but strongly advises vaccinating large groups of people in risk areas.
According to Jasarevic, the use of masks is also not recommended by WHO.
