WHO Says Droplets A Minor Route Of Mpox Spread. What We Know So Far

The UN health agency has declared mpox a public health emergency of international concern on August 14.

The World Health Organization (WHO) said today that droplets were a "minor" route of transmission for mpox compared to physical contact, adding that more research is required to understand how the virus spreads.

The UN health agency declared mpox a public health emergency of international concern on August 14 amid a surge of cases across the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and its neighbouring countries.

Mainly, two distinct clades of the virus, Ia and Ib, are causing significant concern in the DRC. A third variant, Clade II, originated in Nigeria and has been responsible for the global outbreak that began in 2022.