WHO official says mpox is ‘not the new COVID,’ calls for coordinated response
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A World Health Organization (WHO) official stressed in a media briefing Tuesday that mpox, which was recently declared a global health emergency, is “not the new COVID.”
Hans Kluge, WHO regional director for Europe, made the comments in a media briefing in Geneva. He stressed that regardless of whether it is the clade I strain behind the ongoing outbreak in east-central Africa or the clade II strain behind the 2022 outbreak, authorities are aware how to control its spread.
The 2022 outbreak in Europe was controlled thanks to the direct engagement with the most affected communities, according to Kluge. Mpox is a viral infection that causes flu-like symptoms and lesions, and WHO designated the current outbreak in Africa as a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC) last week.
PHEIC is the WHO’s highest level of warning, previously issued for the COVID-19 pandemic and Ebola.
“Today, we’re seeing about 100 new mpox clade II cases in the European Region every month. However, the current state of alert due to clade I gives Europe the opportunity to refocus on clade II, to strengthen mpox surveillance and diagnostics,” Kluge said.
The official called for Europe to act in solidarity with African regions for a coordinated response to the public health emergency.
Kluge concluded, “We can, and must, tackle mpox together – across regions and continents. So will we choose to put the systems in place to control and eliminate mpox globally? Or we will enter another cycle of panic and neglect? How we respond now, and in the years to come, will prove a critical test for Europe and the world.”
Potentially relevant Mpox test, vaccine and therapeutics makers: Virax Biolabs (VRAX), Applied DNA Sciences (APDN), Co-Diagnostics (CODX), Emergent BioSolutions (EBS), Bavarian Nordic (OTCPK:BVNKF)(OTCPK:BVNRY), Tonix Pharmaceuticals (TNXP), GeoVax Labs (GOVX), SIGA Technologies (SIGA), Roche (OTCQX:RHHBY) (OTCQX:RHHBF), Abbott Laboratories (ABT) and Chimerix (CMRX).