NORFOLK, Va. (WAVY) — The World Health Organization has declared Mpox a global health emergency. This outbreak, officials said, is more serious than the outbreak in 2022 as more than 14,000 cases have been reported in Africa so far this year.
Those who are infected with Mpox can get a rash and symptoms similar to the flu.
Cases have been on the rise in Virginia over the last couple of years, with the Virginia Department of Health reporting Virginia Beach and Norfolk with the highest number of cases among Hampton Roads cities at about 40 each.
“Virginia Beach and Norfolk are places where there are higher populations of people at risk,” said Dr. Susan Girois Director of the Norfolk Department of Public Health.
Those at highest risk are men who have sex with other men, but Mpox is not a sexually transmitted infection. It’s spread through close contact, as well as by those who travel to places such as Africa and parts of Europe, where Mpox is endemic and are also at greater risk.
There are two variants, clade one and clade two. Clade two is typically mild, but can lead to death for some. Clade one, seemingly spreads quicker and is cause for growing concern worldwide.
“We can and must tackle Mpox together across regions and continents.” said WHO Regional Director for Europe Hans Kluge Monday at a news conference in Sweden. “How we respond now and in the years to come will prove a critical test for Europe and the world.”
Some now fear a pandemic like shutdown in the future, but Kluge and Girois say Mpox is not the new COVID-19.
“COVID was something very different,” Girois said. It was airborne. We didn’t know a lot about it, and we had no immunity to it, we had no vaccine, we had no treatment. It is a very different situation right now.”
There is an Mpox vaccine, and the Virginia Department of Health urges those most at risk to get the vaccination, which is a two-shot series taken several weeks apart.
“There’s no reason for any fear,” Girois said. “Let’s just go ahead and get active and protect ourselves and each other.”
Community vaccination events were held in 2022 and 2023 in Norfolk. Girois said another one is in the works for September.
In the meantime, you can get the vaccination at your local health department.
