Mpox ‘not the new COVID,’ WHO official stresses

GENEVA | TASS | The new outbreak of mpox, previously known as monkeypox, is not such a serious threat to European countries as the coronavirus pandemic was, Hans Kluge, World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Director for Europe, said.

“Mpox is not the ‘new COVID,’” he noted at a briefing. “We know how to control mpox and, in the European Region, the steps needed to eliminate its transmission altogether,” the official explained. He added that since 2022, European governments and health authorities have learned to take appropriate measures. However, they did not have sufficient resources and commitment to completely remove this threat.

“Today, we’re seeing about 100 new mpox clade II cases in the European Region every month,” Kluge said, adding that actions against the spread of this disease “will prove a critical test for Europe – and the world.”

About Virus

Mpox is a rare viral disease which is endemic to remote regions near tropical forests of Central and Western Africa. The first case of the animal-to-human transmission of this disease was recorded in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in 1970. According to the WHO, this virus is usually transmitted to humans by wild animals, such as rodents and primates, while its secondary spread among humans is limited. Usually the lethality coefficient during mpox outbreaks ranges from 1% to 10% with the majority of fatalities in the younger age groups.

Earlier, WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus declared mpox a public health emergency of international concern.