The World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Director for Europe, Dr Hans Kluge, announced in a statement on Tuesday (20 Aug) that the mpox virus is not the ‘new Covid’.
This is largely due to the vast amount of information known about the virus and the means to control it.
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Mpox is not a new virus, with its existence known for over 2 years following its initial discovery in 2022. It currently has two known strains, clade 1 and clade 2.
As a result of extensive research by scientists, ‘a lot’ is known about the clade 2 strain of the virus, which had infected thousands of people outside Africa in 2022.
But the infection was well-controlled in Europe two years ago, said Dr Kluge, largely due to “the direct engagement with the most affected communities of men who have sex with men”.
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He also cited numerous other measures that were taken to control the outbreak in Europe since 2022.
“Behaviour change, non-discriminatory public health action and mpox vaccination contributed to controlling the outbreak,” he said.
The measures have been successful, with cases of the mpox clade 2 in Europe relatively contained.
“Are we going to go in lockdown in the WHO European region, (as if) it’s another COVID-19? The answer is clearly no,” Dr Kluge told the press during a UN media briefing.
Plans to sustain these measures continue amidst the global health emergency announcement on 15 Aug, following a huge outbreak in Africa of the other strain of the mpox virus, the clade 1.
The clade 1 mpox strain has been regarded as a deadlier, more infectious sub-variant of the virus.
According to BBC, it has claimed over 450 lives among over 13,700 infected individuals since Sept of last year.
In his statement, Dr Kluge said that they still need to learn more about the clade 1 strain, as there has only been 1 reported case outside of Africa to date.
According to The Straits Times, Professor Teo Yik Ying, vice-president for Global Health and dean of the Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health at the National University of Singapore, said that mpox spreads predominantly through close contact.
Although much is yet to be known about how the deadlier strain of the virus is transmitted, experts strongly suggest avoiding close contact with individuals who have symptoms.
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Symptoms include prolonged rashes, pus-filled lesions, and swollen glands.
Also read: Mpox situation ‘very worrying’, S’pore may be ‘one of the 1st places’ to get it: Ong Ye Kung
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