Will Mpox be the new Covid?

Not if Mpox can be contained, says the World Health Organisation. But will it be?

Doctor with vial of the doses vaccine for MPOX monkeypox disease
(Image credit: Getty Images)

Mpox is a viral disease originating in central Africa that causes skin rashes and lesions along with flu-like symptoms. Most cases typically present with mild symptoms, and there is complete recovery within two to four weeks. However, in severe forms, the disease leads to brain inflammation and sepsis, and can be fatal. The disease was first identified in captive laboratory monkeys in Denmark in 1958 and was formerly known as monkeypox. In addition to monkeys, the virus has been detected in Gambian pouched rats, dormice and African squirrels, which are often used as food. The first cases in humans were identified in 1970, and sporadic cases were reported in central and east Africa in the decades since then. A major global outbreak occurred in 2022-2023, and there are now widespread fears of a far worse one. Last month, the World Health Organisation (WHO) declared Mpox an international public health emergency of major concern, in response to a deadly outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

How is Mpox transmitted?

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Simon Wilson’s first career was in book publishing, as an economics editor at Routledge, and as a publisher of non-fiction at Random House, specialising in popular business and management books. While there, he published Customers.com, a bestselling classic of the early days of e-commerce, and The Money or Your Life: Reuniting Work and Joy, an inspirational book that helped inspire its publisher towards a post-corporate, portfolio life.   

Since 2001, he has been a writer for MoneyWeek, a financial copywriter, and a long-time contributing editor at The Week. Simon also works as an actor and corporate trainer; current and past clients include investment banks, the Bank of England, the UK government, several Magic Circle law firms and all of the Big Four accountancy firms. He has a degree in languages (German and Spanish) and social and political sciences from the University of Cambridge.