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STORY: :: Global health agencies say there is no need to close borders as mpox spreads beyond Africa

:: Geneva, Switzerland

:: August 16, 2024

:: Bronwyn Nichol, International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies

“From the IFRC side, we do stand with what is recommended under international health regulations, which is that there is no need to close borders. When we are in disease outbreaks, diseases don’t recognize 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.”

:: Margaret Harris, WHO spokesperson

“It’s about knowing if you have it, knowing what to look for, knowing how to separate each other and do proper contact tracing, and not being afraid. So there’s always a balance, but not being sort of terrified. It’s more a matter of shutting down the infection so that those who are most at risk from severe illness – the young, the immuno-suppressed – don’t get infected. That’s really what we’re talking about.”

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.

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.

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.