Mpox ISN'T the new Covid, WHO announce in urgent update on spread of deadly virus

Mpox ISN'T the new Covid, WHO announce in urgent update on spread of deadly virus READ MORE: Mpox Q&A: From the warning signs to how to stay protected By Emily Stearn, Health Reporter For Mailonline Published: 05:10 EDT, 20 August 2024 | Updated: 05:14 EDT, 20 August 2024 e-mail View comments Europe is registering 100 new mpox cases every month, a World Health Organization (WHO) chief warned today. Dr Hans Kluge, the UN agency's regional director for Europe said a 'lack of commitment' and 'resources' from European Governments has failed to eliminate the rash-causing virus. But, addressing a UN Geneva Palais Briefing, he cautioned mpox was 'not the "new Covid".

It comes as a mutant form of the virus is currently spreading rampantly in Africa, killing an estimated 10 per cent of those infected. It is a descendent of the deadly clade I strain of mpox, formerly known as monkeypox , and different than the mild version which spread to over dozen countries , including the UK, in 2022. This map shows areas where cases of the new mpox strain has been confirmed (shaded in red) and those where nations deemed to be at risk of cases emerging according to UK health officials It is a far cry from the 2022 outbreak where thousands of cases were recorded, mostly in London Dr Kluge told the UN Geneva Palais Briefing: 'Mpox is not the "new COVID".

'Regardless of whether it’s mpox clade I, behind the ongoing outbreak in east-central Africa - or mpox clade II, behind the 2022 outbreak that init.