China announced Friday it will begin screening people and goods entering the country for mpox over the next six months, just two days after the World Health Organization sounded its highest possible alarm over the worsening mpox situation in Africa.
People travelling from countries where virus outbreaks have occurred, who have been in contact with mpox cases or display symptoms should “take the initiative to declare to customs when entering the country”, China’s customs administration said in a statement.
Vehicles, containers, and items from areas with pox cases should also be sanitized, the statement added.
Sweden on Thursday announced the first case outside Africa of a more dangerous variant of mpox, with the WHO warning that further imported cases of this new strain in Europe was likely.
Pakistani health officials also reported a first case on Friday, adding that the affected person had traveled from a Gulf country.
The WHO on Wednesday had sounded its highest possible alarm over the worsening mpox situation in Africa, calling it a global public health emergency. Just a day before, the African Union’s health watchdog declared its own public health emergency over the intensifying outbreak.
