Mpox virus|Global cases

EU infection control authority: Increased risk of mpox in Europe

The European infection control agency ECDC sees an increased risk of the spread of mpox in Europe. This is clear from a press release from the authority, writes TT.

“As a result of the rapid outbreak in Africa, ECDC has raised the risk level for the population of the EU and visitors to affected areas. Due to the close connections between Europe and Africa, we must prepare for more imported cases of clade 1", writes ECDC director Pamela Rendi-Wagner.

Even now, ECDC assesses that the overall risk is low in the EU. For individuals, such as those with a weakened immune system, the risk is higher.

...................................

Pakistan confirms mpox case - virus strain still unclear

Pakistan has confirmed its first cases of the mpox virus. At least three cases have been identified and the infected patients must have come from the United Arab Emirates, international news agencies write.

It is still unclear whether it is the more deadly and contagious variant of the virus – the type that has spread widely in central Africa, which has caused the WHO to declare an international emergency and which has also been discovered in Sweden.

Tests are now to be carried out, writes Reuters.

- When it is ready, we will be able to tell you which virus strain this is, says the Ministry of Health's spokesperson Sajid Shah.

If it were to be confirmed that it is the new and more dangerous virus variant clade 1, it would be Asia's first case. So far, only one case of clade 1 has been discovered outside of Africa – in Sweden.

....................................

Save the Children: Mpox most dangerous for children and young people

80 percent of those affected by the new variant of the mpox virus are children. That's what Save the Children's Katharina Schroeder, who is on the ground in Congo-Kinshasa, tells Ekot.

It is also four times more common for children to die than adults, she says.

On Wednesday, the WHO declared a global health emergency due to the spread, and yesterday the first confirmed case of the new variant outside of Africa was discovered in Sweden.
radio+text So far this year ha