Health workers walk between wards at the Mpox treatment center at Nyiragongo General Referral Hospital in northern Goma on August 17, 2024. , is the focus and epicenter of this epidemic.
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The World Health Organization's regional director for Europe said MPOX “is not a new coronavirus” and the risk to the general population is very low.
in a statement publish On Tuesday, Dr. Hans Kluge refused to compare MPOX to the coronavirus pandemic.
“We can and must address measles outbreaks together across regions and continents,” Kruger said.
“Will we choose to establish a system to control and eliminate MPOX on a global scale? Or will we enter another cycle of panic and then neglect?” he added.
“How we respond now and in the coming years will be a severe test for Europe and the world.”
The United Nations health agency recently declare mpox has become a global public health emergency for the second time in two years. The disease previously broke out in the Democratic Republic of Congo and has spread to neighboring African countries.
Formerly known as monkeypox, mpox is a rare viral infection that is spread through close contact and is most common in West or Central Africa. It is divided into two different strains or clades.
The World Health Organization declared the spread of MPOX a global health emergency last week.
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Type I clade is endemic to Central Africa and is known to cause more severe disease and death. Some outbreaks have killed as many as 10% of patients, although mortality rates in recent outbreaks have been lower, according to To the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Group II viruses are unique to West Africa and are responsible for the 2022 global MPOX outbreak. explain More than 99.9% of people survive this strain.
Thursday Sweden be the first country Cases of the MPOX clade I variant at the center of the latest outbreak have been recorded outside Africa.
“Today, we are seeing about 100 new cases of MPOX clade II in Europe every month,” Kluge said.
“However, the current state of alert against clade I gives Europe an opportunity to refocus its attention on clade II,” he added.