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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

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A health worker attends to a mpox patient, at a treatment centre in Munigi, eastern Congo. Photo: AP

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.

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The World Health Organization declared an international emergency over mpox on August 14, concerned by the surge in cases of the Clade 1b strain in the Democratic Republic of Congo and its spread to nearby countries.

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.

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WHO declares mpox a global health emergency as new form of virus emerges

WHO declares mpox a global health emergency as new form of virus emerges

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)”.

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