{"id":2949,"date":"2024-08-20T18:48:59","date_gmt":"2024-08-20T18:48:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sbmediaonline.com\/?p=2949"},"modified":"2024-08-20T18:49:00","modified_gmt":"2024-08-20T18:49:00","slug":"expert-clarifies-mpox-is-not-a-recurrence-of-covid-and-can-be-stopped-through-measures","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sbmediaonline.com\/?p=2949","title":{"rendered":"Expert clarifies: Mpox is not a recurrence of Covid and can be stopped through measures”"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Mpox<\/a> is \u201cnot the new Covid\u201d, because authorities clearly know how to control its spread, a leading World Health Organization expert has said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite real concern about a new variant of the virus, and a global alert, Europe regional director Dr Hans Kluge told journalists, together we could \u2013 and must \u2013 tackle mpox.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And strong action now \u2013 including ensuring vaccines reach the areas most in need \u2013 could stop another cycle of panic and neglect.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A case of the new variant, Clade Ib, was confirmed in Sweden last week and linked to a growing outbreak in Africa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mpox has killed at least 450 people in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the former Zaire, in recent months, linked to Clade Ib.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There is still a lot to learn about the new variant, experts say, but it may be spreading more easily, causing more serious disease.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

No Clade Ib cases have been seen in the UK \u2013 but experts warn it can spread unless international action is taken.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A different variant, Clade II, was behind the 2022 outbreak that initially affected Europe and continues to circulate in many parts of the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But experts know how to control mpox, regardless of the variant \u2013 through non-discriminatory public-health action and equitable access to vaccines, Dr Kluge says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The virus, which causes a fever and rash, can be spread by skin-to-skin contact with lesions, including during sex.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Spread quickly<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dr Kluge said the risk to the general population was low.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAre we going to go in lockdown in the WHO European region, it\u2019s another Covid-19? The answer is clearly: \u2018no\u2019,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTwo years ago, we controlled mpox in Europe thanks to the direct engagement with the most affected communities of men who have sex with men,\u201d Dr Kluge said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIn 2022, mpox showed us it can spread quickly around the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe can, and must, tackle mpox together \u2013 across regions and continents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWill we choose to put the systems in place to control and eliminate mpox globally or will we enter another cycle of panic, then neglect?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

About 100 new Clade II cases were now being reported in the European region every month, Dr Kluge added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Travellers to affected areas in Africa have been advised to consider vaccination.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

WHO spokesman Tarik Jasarevic said the WHO was not recommending the use of masks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe are not recommending mass vaccination. We are recommending to use vaccines in outbreak settings for the groups who are most at risk,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Mpox is \u201cnot the new Covid\u201d, because authorities clearly know how to control its spread, a leading World Health Organization expert has said. Despite real […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2950,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2949","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sbmediaonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2949","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sbmediaonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sbmediaonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sbmediaonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sbmediaonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2949"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/sbmediaonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2949\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2951,"href":"https:\/\/sbmediaonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2949\/revisions\/2951"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sbmediaonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2950"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sbmediaonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2949"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sbmediaonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2949"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sbmediaonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2949"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}