WHO says droplets a ‘minor’ route of mpox transmission as outbreak spreads
Earlier this month, WHO declared mpox outbreaks in DR Congo and 11 other countries in Africa to be a global emergency
The WHO on Tuesday said droplets were a minor route of transmission for mpox compared to physical contact, adding that more research was needed to understand how the outbreak is spreading.
The UN health agency says on its website that mpox spreads between people mainly through close physical contact with someone who has the virus.
“Close contact includes skin-to-skin (such as touching or sex) and mouth-to-mouth, or mouth-to-skin contact (such as kissing),” it says.
It can also include “being face-to-face with someone who has mpox (such as talking or breathing close to one another, which can generate infectious respiratory particles)”.