Travellers heading to affected regions in Africa are being advised to consider getting vaccinated against mpox, following an update from the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC). This comes in response to outbreaks of a new strain of the virus.
Although other continents, including Europe, may see some cases, the ECDC has assessed the risk of widespread transmission as low, despite the World Health Organization recently declaring the mpox situation a global emergency.
Mpox, previously known as monkeypox, is transmitted through close contact with an infected person. Those who have previously been vaccinated might only require a single top-up dose rather than the full two-shot course.