Threat LensBiologicalMaintain Mpox surveillance, PAHO asks the Americas

Maintain Mpox surveillance, PAHO asks the Americas

Type of event:
Disease/Outbreak, Public Health

Victims

Wounded

Date

November 26, 2024

What happened

The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) emphasizes the importance of continued Mpox surveillance in the Americas. This includes laboratory detection and genomic sequencing of confirmed cases. This call to action follows the first detection of a Clade I variant case in the Region, specifically in the United States. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported a Clade I Mpox case on November 16, 2024, in a man who recently returned from East Africa. So far, no additional Clade I cases have been detected in the Region. In the Americas, the highest number of Mpox cases was recorded in 2022, with a peak in August. This was followed by a progressive decrease in cases that has continued throughout 2023 and 2024. Except for the recent imported case of Clade Ib, all cases in the Americas were due to Clade II. According to the PAHO alert, the key strategies for managing the current outbreak are early detection and diagnosis, isolation, and contact tracing. While vaccination can help prevent infection among individuals at risk, the implementation of a mass vaccination programme against Mpox at the population level is neither a necessary nor a recommended course of action.

Where it happened

Main sources