WHO Warns Against Lockdown Amid Mpox Outbreak
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has stressed that the current mpox outbreak is not another COVID-19, as much is already known about the virus and its control measures. The WHO’s European Director, Hans Kluge, made the declaration during a media briefing in Geneva on Tuesday.
Kluge explained that while more research is needed on the Clade one billion strain, which has triggered the international public health emergency, the spread of mpox can still be controlled. In fact, the WHO successfully contained the less severe Clade 2b strain in Europe in 2022, which mostly affected gay and bisexual men.
The agency director attributed the success to direct engagement with affected communities, robust surveillance, and the provision of sound public health advice. “Behaviour change, non-discriminatory public health action, and mpox vaccination contributed to controlling the outbreak,” Kluge emphasized.
Despite the risk of transmission, Kluge assured that the risk to the general population remains low. “Are we going to go in lockdown in the WHO European region, it’s another COVID-19? The answer is clearly: ‘no’,” he stated.
The predominant route of transmission is still close skin-to-skin contact, although it is possible that someone in the acute phase of infection, especially with blisters in the mouth, may transmit the virus to close contacts through droplets in circumstances such as the home or hospitals.
WHO spokesman Tarik Jasarevic confirmed that the agency is not recommending the use of masks, nor mass vaccination. Instead, the WHO recommends the use of vaccines in outbreak settings for the groups most at risk.
The WHO declared an international health emergency on August 14, concerned by the rise in cases of Clade 1b in the Democratic Republic of Congo and its spread to nearby countries.
