Mpox Transmission and Mask Bans: Public Health Risks

While the World Health Organization has declared the virus mpox a global public health concern, the concern regarding its methods of transmission has also increased. The disease mpox, which was once known as monkeypox, has had increasing reports of the virus. There is an emergence of a new strain of the virus that is more virulent than the first clade. Methods of transmission of the virus are still unknown, although the virus which causes mpox is related to the smallpox virus, which is also spread through close contact.

The recent outbreaks that have affected young children from different regions have led to the reluctance of the new concern about whether it is a respiratory disease. The new concerns are comparable to the recent concerns of COVID-19 which led to the new definitions of the methods of virus spread. There has been a baseless claim from the CDC stating that the virus can be spread through a respiratory process, although the facts are different, they agree the virus causes mpox.

Several legislations have also affected the current situation which includes the recent Nasaau country’s legislation on banning the wearing of masks. Such legislations are harmful to the public health sector because they limit the people’s measures of protecting themselves from the pandemic. The public sector’s intersection between science and policy will affect not only the spreading of mpox but also other infectious pathogens.