The World Health Organization declared on Tuesday that the mpox outbreak is not another Covid-19 since there is already a lot of knowledge available about the virus and ways to contain it.
The WHO’s European director Hans Kluge stated that although further study is required on the Clade 1b strain that led the UN agency to declare an international health emergency, the mpox outbreak can be contained.
“Mpox is not the new Covid,” he said.
“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.
In July 2022, the WHO declared an emergency over the international outbreak of the less severe Clade 2b strain of mpox, which mostly affected men who have sex with men. The alarm was lifted in May 2023.
“We controlled mpox in Europe thanks to the direct engagement with the most affected communities,” said Kluge.
He noted that effective case contacts investigation, immunization, behavior modifications in the impacted areas, and rigorous surveillance all helped to contain the outbreak.
