The mpox outbreak is not another COVID-19, says the World Health Organization, because much is already known about the virus and the means to control it. While more research is needed on the clade 1b strain which triggered the UN agency into declaring a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC), the spread of mpox can be reined in, the WHO’s European director Hans Kluge said on Tuesday. In July 2022, the WHO declared a PHEIC over the international outbreak of the less-severe clade 2b strain of mpox, which mostly affected gay and bisexual men. The alarm was lifted in May 2023.