How worried should we be about mpox?

As a global emergency is declared over mpox, our health and science correspondent assesses the threat.

British Broadcasting CorporationWatchHomeNewsSportBusinessInnovationCultureTravelEarthVideoLiveHomeNewsIsrael-Gaza WarWar in UkraineUS ElectionUS & CanadaUKUK PoliticsEnglandN. IrelandN. Ireland PoliticsScotlandScotland PoliticsWalesWales PoliticsAfricaAsiaChinaIndiaAustraliaEuropeLatin AmericaMiddle EastIn PicturesBBC VerifySportBusinessExecutive LoungeTechnology of BusinessWomen at the HelmFuture of BusinessInnovationTechnologyScience & HealthArtificial IntelligenceAI v the MindCultureFilm & TVMusicArt & DesignStyleBooksEntertainment NewsTravelDestinationsAfricaAntarcticaAsiaAustralia and PacificCaribbean & BermudaCentral AmericaEuropeMiddle EastNorth AmericaSouth AmericaWorld’s TableCulture & ExperiencesAdventuresThe SpeciaListEarthNatural WondersWeather & ScienceClimate SolutionsSustainable BusinessGreen LivingVideoLiveLive NewsLive SportHomeNewsSportBusinessInnovationCultureTravelEarthVideoLiveAudioWeatherNewslettersHow worried should we be about mpox?Getty ImagesClade 1b has spread in eastern DR Congo since 2023, and now to neighbouring countries previously unaffected by mpoxThe rapid spread of mpox – what used to be called monkeypox – in parts of Africa has been declared a global emergency.

A new form of the virus is at the heart of concerns, but there still remain huge unanswered questions.

Is it more contagious? We don’t know. How deadly is it? We don’t have the data. Is this going to be a pandemic?

“We have to avoid the trap of thinking this is going to be Covid all over again and we’re going to have lockdowns - or that this will play out like mpox did in 2022,” says Dr Jake Dunning, an mpox scientist and doctor who has treated mpox patients in the UK.

To assess the threat – despite the uncertainty - we first need to realise this is not one mpox outbreak, but three.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c4glqzerw3no

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