'No need to close borders', say WHO, IFRC after mpox detected outside Africa

Officials at the World Health Organization (WHO) and the International Federation of the Red Cross (IFRC) on Friday (August 16) advised against any travel restrictions to stop the spread of mpox, after the first cases of the disease have been detected this week outside Africa.

 

Pakistan's health ministry has confirmed at least one case of the mpox virus in a patient who had returned from a Gulf country, it said on Friday, though they did not yet know the strain of the virus.

 

A new form of the virus has triggered global concern because it seems to spread more easily though routine close contact. A case of the new variant was confirmed on Thursday (August 15) in Sweden and linked to a growing outbreak in Africa, the first sign of its spread outside the continent.

 

“There is no need to close borders. When we are in disease outbreaks, diseases don’t recognise borders, people will continue to cross a border, whether it is illegal crossing or not an illegal crossing. It doesn’t stop the disease from spreading,” IFRC senior officer Bronwyn Nichol told a United Nations press briefing in Geneva.

 

WHO spokesperson Margaret Harris said her agency will publish a list of temporary recommendations for countries later on Friday.

 

The WHO declared the recent outbreak of the disease as a public health emergency of international concern after the new variant of the virus was identified.

 

Global health officials on Thursday (August 15) confirmed an infection with a new strain of the mpox virus in Sweden and linked it to a growing outbreak in Africa, the first sign of its spread outside the continent.

 

“On Sweden, in fact, this is in a sense a really good news. I mean, it’s not good news for the person who’s got the infection, but it shows the system has worked and that countries have really stepped up their vigilance,” Harris said.

 

The WHO on Wednesday (August 14) sounded its highest level of alert over the outbreak in Africa after cases in the Democratic Republic of Congo spread to nearby countries.

 

There have been 27,000 cases and more than 1,100 deaths, mainly among children, in Congo since the current outbreak began in January 2023.