Mpox Not The New COVID, Assures WHO Official

New Delhi: In a reassuring message, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has said that Mpox — previously called Monkeypox – is “not the new COVID.”

WHO regional director for Europe Hans Kluge stressed during a UN media briefing that authorities know how to control the spread of Mpox virus, unlike the coronavirus pandemic.

“We can and must tackle Mpox together. How we respond now and in the years to come will prove a critical test for Europe and the world,” said Kluge

The world is taking the Mpox threat seriously, especially after WHO declared it as a global public health emergency last week.

The new virulent strain of Mpox has spread across Africa, and has also been detected in European and Asian countries like Sweden and Pakistan, respectively.

The Indian government has been pro-active, putting hospitals and airports on high alert to watch out for isolating, managing and treating Mpox patients.

According to several health experts, Mpox has the potential to become a pandemic, but it’s less likely than COVID-19.

“Unlike COVID-19, which is so easily transmitted from person to person through the air, Mpox is mainly transmitted via direct contact with infectious rash or body fluids,” Senior Consultant Dr Neha Rastogi Panda told India Today.