Monkeypox not new COVID-19, says WHO

The Monkeypox (mpox) outbreak is not another Covid-19, the World Health Organization said Tuesday, as much is already known about the virus and the means to control it.

While more research is needed on the Clade 1b strain which triggered the UN agency into declaring a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC), the spread of mpox can be reined in, the WHO's European director Hans Kluge said.

In July 2022, the WHO declared a PHEIC over the international outbreak of the less severe Clade 2b strain of mpox, which mostly affected gay and bisexual men. The alarm was lifted in May 2023.

"Mpox is not the new Covid," Kluge insisted.

"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 contacts; and we provided sound public health advice.

"Behaviour change, non-discriminatory public health action, and mpox vaccination contributed to controlling the outbreak."

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 said.