The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) on Friday raised its risk level for mpox, a day after global health officials confirmed the first infection with a new strain of the virus outside Africa, in Sweden.
Head of the EU public health body said there would be more imported cases of the new mpox strain in Europe in coming weeks, though the risk of sustained transmission remained low. The World Health Organisation (WHO) on Wednesday declared mpox a global public health emergency, its highest form of alert, after an outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo that had spread to neighbouring countries.
Shares in pharmaceutical companies producing and developing mpox vaccines rose on Friday. Danish biotech firm Bavarian Nordic’s shares soared 20% after it said it had submitted data to the EU’s drug regulator for approval to extend the use of its mpox and smallpox vaccine to adolescents aged 12 to 17 years.
Shares in New Jersey-based Tonix Pharmaceuticals also leapt after the company said it will advance development of its mpox vaccine candidate. “We are motivated to advance development for our mpox vaccine with urgency given the global public health emergency,” its CEO Seth Lederman said.
The WHO hosted an emergency meeting on Friday to discuss ways to ensure fair global access to tests, treatments and vaccines for the virus, a leading official said. Mpox, a viral infection that causes pus-filled lesions and flu-like symptoms, is usually mild but can kill. Two strains are now spreading in the DRC — the endemic form of the virus, clade I, and a new offshoot called clade Ib.
The ECDC on Friday raised its risk level assessment for mpox to “moderate” from “low” for sporadic cases appearing in the bloc, and asked countries to maintain high levels of awareness among travellers visiting from affected areas.
“Due to the close links between Europe and Africa, we must be prepared for more imported clade I cases,” said its director Pamela Rendi-Wagner.
Pakistan also confirmed on Friday a case of the mpox virus in a patient who had returned from a Gulf country, though it was not clear whether it was of the new variant or of the clade that has been spreading globally since 2022. Mpox transmits through close physical contact, including sexual contact, but unlike previous global pandemics such as Covid-19 there is no evidence it spreads easily through the air.
WHO official Margaret Harris said on Friday she expects more cases outside Africa to emerge soon, also as a result of heightened monitoring. However, the WHO has advised against any travel restrictions to stop the spread of the virus. China said earlier on Friday it plans to monitor people and goods entering the country for mpox for the next six months.
Far more diagnostic kits, treatments and vaccines need to be shipped to Africa to respond adequately to the outbreak of the new strain of the virus there, an official of the Red Cross and Red Crescent humanitarian network said. The head of global vaccine group Gavi told Reuters it has up to $500m to spend on getting shots to countries affected by the escalating outbreak in Africa.
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