The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) warned that “more imported clade 1 [mpox] infections are highly likely and urged countries to take preparedness steps.” CIDRAP has the news.
In the wake of the identification of a case of mpox in Sweden, the ECDC “recommended that countries with close travel links to Africa issue travel advice for those visiting or returning from affected countries. It said the risk is high for those who have close contact with affected communities and moderate for those who are close contacts of Europeans with suspected or confirmed clade 1 mpox infections.”
It assessed the overall risk from the clade 1 virus to the general public as low. The outbreak of the virus in the Democratic Republic of the Congo “saw the region's first sexual spread of clade 1 mpox, and health officials have reported transmission among social networks, such as through sex workers, and among household contacts. Some spread is also thought to be occurring through respiratory droplets.”
Doctors Without Borders (MSF) has also said it “strongly supports the WHO's appeal to donors this week to help with a coordinated response to Africa's mpox outbreak and emphasized that the use of existing vaccine is key for reducing future spread.” Africa CDC has estimated that “at least 10 million doses are needed to slow the spread of the virus, but very few doses are available in the region.”
As Healthcare Purchasing News reported last week, the WHO has recently issued a warning on mpox.
