WHO says droplets are 'minor' route of transmission

The World Health Organisation (WHO) on Tuesday said droplets were a minor route of transmission for mpox compared to physical contact, adding that more research was needed to understand how the outbreak is spreading.

The WHO declared an international emergency over mpox on 14 August, concerned by the surge in cases of the clade ib strain in the Democratic Republic of Congo and its spread to nearby countries.

The UN health agency says on its website that mpox spreads between people mainly through close physical contact with someone who has the virus.

"Close contact includes skinto-skin (such as touching or sex) and mouth-to-mouth, or mouth to-skin contact (such as kissing)," it says.

It can also include "being face to-face with someone who has mpox, such as talking or breathing close to one another, which can generate infectious respiratory particles".

WHO spokesperson Margaret Harris said on Tuesday that if a person with the virus had lesions, "if you're talking closely to someone, breathing on them, physically close, face-to-face, there is a possibility" of viral spread, "but this is a minor source".