WHO rallies nations against Mpox disease spread

The Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), Tedros Ghebreyesus, has called for immediate global action to combat the spread of Mpox after the virus spread beyond African borders.

Ghebreyesus noted that the spread of the disease outside Africa further underscored the need for affected countries to tackle the virus to end the transmission chain.

He disclosed that the fight against the virus required that these nations embark on enhanced surveillance, sharing data, and collaborating to understand the transmission. 

The WHO boss made the appeals on Friday in a short statement released on his official social media handle after Sweden recorded the severe Clade 1 virus, becoming the first nation outside Africa.

According to him, the identification of the first mpox clade 1b infection in Sweden underscores the need for affected countries to tackle the virus together, through enhanced surveillance, data sharing, and collaboration to better understand the transmission. 

He stressed the need for nations to share tools including vaccines, and apply lessons learnt from prior public health emergencies of international concern to address the current outbreak.

Earlier, the Swedish Public Health Agency stated that the infected individual contracted the disease while visiting an African region with a large outbreak.

“The case is the first caused by Clade I that has been diagnosed outside the African continent,” said OliWigzell, Director-General of the Swedish Public Health Agency. 

“The affected person has also been infected during a stay in an area of Africa where there is a large outbreak of mpox Clade I.”

Wigzell also said the infected individual had received care and instructions in line with the health agency’s recommendations.

Health and Social Affairs Minister, Jakob Forssmed, emphasized the severity of the situation, stating, “We have now also during the afternoon had confirmation that we have one case in Sweden of the graver type of mpox, the one called Clade I.”

At least 450 people died during an initial outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo and the disease has since spread to areas of central and east Africa.

Mpox, which was previously known as monkeypox, is transmitted through close contact, such as sex, skin-to-skin contact and talking or breathing close to another person.

The WHO’s declaration and the first case in Sweden highlight the need for global cooperation in addressing the mpox outbreak. Enhanced surveillance, data sharing, and collaboration will be crucial in understanding and combating the virus.