The World Health Organization clarified that the outbreak of mpox is not comparable to COVID-19, as measures are already in place to control it effectively.
While more research is needed on the specific strain that prompted a public health emergency declaration, the spread of mpox can be contained, according to Hans Kluge, the WHO’s European director.
He emphasized that steps taken in the past, such as community engagement, surveillance, investigation, and vaccination, were successful in controlling a previous outbreak of mpox in Europe.
“Mpox is not the new Covid. 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.
“Two years ago, we controlled mpox in Europe thanks to the direct engagement with the most affected communities. We put in place robust surveillance; we thoroughly investigated new cases and contacts and we provided sound public health advice.
“Behaviour change, non-discriminatory public health action, and mpox vaccination contributed to controlling the outbreak,” Kluge insisted
Kluge said the risk to the general population was low.
“Are we going to go in lockdown in the WHO European region, it’s another COVID-19? The answer is clearly: ‘no’,” he noted.
Kluge reassured that the risk to the general population is low and there is no need for lockdown measures similar to those implemented for COVID-19.
The main mode of transmission for mpox is through close skin-to-skin contact, but there is a possibility of transmission through droplets in certain circumstances.
The WHO is not recommending the use of masks or mass vaccination, but advises targeted vaccination for high-risk groups in outbreak settings.
“We are not recommending mass vaccination. We are recommending to use of vaccines in outbreak settings for the groups who are most at risk,” he added.
The international health emergency was declared due to an increase in cases of a specific strain of mpox in the Democratic Republic of Congo and neighboring countries.
