Health Agencies Set Out 12-Month Plan for Mpox Suppression

Public health agencies across the UK have set out plans to continue reducing mpox transmission rates over the next year.

High vaccination rates have helped contributed to a steep fall in person-to-person infections, but the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) said it wanted to lay the groundwork for eventual elimination of mpox viral transmission. That goal was "achievable" in the longer term but only once the global outbreak was under better control, it said.

In the meantime, the Agency, alongside Public Health Scotland, Public Health Wales and Northern Ireland's Public Health Agency, have agreed on a strategy for suppressing current mpox transmission and reducing hospitalisations, complications, severe illness, and stigma. It also aims to minimise transmission from people travelling to the UK and helping reduce the global burden of the disease by sharing data, knowledge, and information.

UK-wide co-ordination of work over the next 6 to 12 months will be the responsibility of a strategic response group formed by the health agencies, with the UKHSA taking the lead role for some elements, such as procurement of vaccines and therapeutics on behalf of all four nations.

Source: MEDspace