(AA): The spread of mpox and rise in COVID-19 cases in various countries around the world is not a major cause for worry at the moment, according to two prominent health experts. The spread of mpox has sparked some concern around the world in recent weeks, with the World Health Organization (WHO) and Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) declaring it a public health emergency of international and continental concern, respectively. As of last week, Africa CDC had recorded 21,305 mpox cases – 3,326 confirmed and 17,979 suspected – and 590 deaths in 13 African countries this year, with the Democratic Republic of the Congo accounting for 96% of all cases and 97% of all deaths.
Cases have recently been confirmed in countries around the world, including Pakistan, Thailand, the Philippines, Australia and Sweden. For Europe, however, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) believes the current level of risk remains “low.” “ECDC assess the risk for the EU/EEA population as low,” Bruno Ciancio, head of the agency’s surveillance section, told Anadolu.
He stressed that the mpox virus has “existed for several decades” and there are “effective and safe vaccines” for the disease. This virus also “requires close contact for transmission from person to person,” he said. He dismissed comparisons with the COVID-19 pandemic: “This is a completely different situation than what happened with the emergence of COVID-19, i.
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