Following the World Health Organizations declaration that an ongoing mpox outbreak across several African countries was a global health emergency of international concern, some countries have put additional screening measures in place at airports and seaports. There are now concerns that this could impact international travel.
On August 14, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus determined that the upsurge of mpox in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and a growing number of countries in Africa constituted a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC).
Countries including China, Sweden, Pakistan and India have tightened traveller screening at all ports of entry, and are preparing measures, including facilities for isolation and laboratories for quick testing and early diagnosis, to minimise the impact of the disease.
The WHO announced on August 16 that there was no need to close borders, as it would not prevent the disease from spreading. On August 19, the Health Security Committee of the European Commission and European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control agreed that there was no need to impose border controls, nor to update the regulation on mpox vaccination to require bloc-wide inoculation. Although the organisations anticipate more mpox cases across Europe, they recommend high levels of planning and awareness to ensure cases are contained and the impact remains low.
At a virtual workshop given by International SOS on August 20, it was explained that a new variant of monkeypox, clade 1, is highly contagious and rapidly spreading across east Africa.
