The Regional Director of the World Health Organization in Europe, Hans Kluge, clarified that the world knows much about the monkeypox disease, and therefore it cannot be considered a “new COVID pandemic.”
Kluge explained during a press conference that “monkeypox is not a new COVID, whether it is from strain 1 causing the current epidemic in Central and Eastern Africa, or strain 2 of monkeypox that led to the epidemic outbreak in 2022” globally.
He stated, “We already know a lot about strain 2. We must learn more about strain 1, and we also know how monkeypox can be combated.”
Meanwhile, Catherine Smallwood, an official in the WHO’s European office, clarified that “strain A1 was referred to as the Congo Basin strain,” caused by infections from infected animals, adding, “We have not isolated or recorded cases where strain ‘B’ was transmitted through infected animals.”
She stated, “Therefore, it seems to be a virus strain that spreads exclusively among humans, and some viral mutations identified by scientists have shown that it is likely to spread more between humans.”
Furthermore, WHO spokesperson in Geneva, Tarik Jasarevic, confirmed, “We know that strain 1 is more dangerous than 2, but specialists are now trying to determine if there is a real difference in the severity of the two strains,” continuing, “We have just detected strain 1B, which spreads quickly, but we are not yet sure of its severity.”
It is noted that the World Health Organization declared monkeypox a “public health emergency of international concern” due to the growing number of cases of this disease in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, especially the “1B” strain, which has also been recorded in Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, and Uganda.
