Health workers walk between the wards of the Mpox treatment centre at the Nyiragongo General Referral Hospital, north of Goma, on August 17, 2024. With around 16,000 cases recorded since the beginning of the year, the Democratic Republic of Congo is the focus and epicentre of the epidemic that led the World Health Organization (WHO) to activate its highest level of alert internationally on Wednesday.
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Mpox is “not the new Covid” and the risk to the general population is low, according to the regional director for Europe of the World Health Organization.
In a statement released Tuesday, Dr. Hans Kluge rejected comparisons between mpox and the coronavirus pandemic.
“We can and must tackle the MPOX problem together, across all regions and continents,” Kluge said.
“Will we choose to implement systems to control and eliminate MPOX globally? Or will we enter another cycle of panic and then neglect?” he added.
“How we respond now and in the years to come will be a crucial test for Europe and the world.”
The United Nations health agency recently declared mpox a global public health emergency for the second time in two years. The declaration came after an outbreak of the disease in the Democratic Republic of Congo that has spread to neighboring African countries.
Monkeypox, formerly known as smallpox, is a rare viral infection spread through close contact and most commonly found in West or Central Africa. It is classified into two distinct viral strains or clades.
The World Health Organization declared the spread of mpox a global health emergency last week.
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Clade I, endemic to central Africa, is known to cause more severe illness and death. Some outbreaks have killed up to 10% of people who became ill, although more recent outbreaks have had lower mortality rates, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Clade II, endemic to West Africa, is the viral group that caused the global mpox outbreak in 2022. Infections are known to be less severe, and the CDC says more than 99.9% of people survive this strain.
Sweden on Thursday became the first country outside Africa to record a case of the mpox clade I variant at the centre of the latest outbreak.
“Today, we are seeing around 100 new mpox clade II cases in the European region every month,” Kluge said.
“However, the current state of alert due to clade I gives Europe the opportunity to refocus on clade II,” he added.
