The United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has issued an alert for travelers departing to or arriving from countries with a known high prevalence of Mpox.
CDC, along with the US Department of Homeland Security, is implementing Mpox screening at several major airports across the country, including New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport, Los Angeles International Airport and Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. Passengers arriving from regions where Mpox is known to be endemic or where recent Mpox outbreaks have occurred are subject to screening before they are allowed to enter the country.
In addition, due to frequent and close travel links between Europe and Africa, the European CDC (ECDC) is recommending that EU and EEA member states issue travel advice for people visiting or returning from areas affected by the outbreak. ECDC says the likelihood of infection for people from the EU/EEA traveling to affected areas who have close contact with affected communities is high. Additionally, there is a moderate risk for close contacts of possible or confirmed imported cases into the EU/EEA.
Countries in Asia have also begun screening operations. In South Korea, for example, epidemiologists and public health doctors are being deployed at the gates of flights arriving from Ethiopia, a major transportation hub for Africa, to monitor incoming passengers.
Africa CDC declared Mpox a “public health emergency of continental security” on August 13. At least 12 African countries, including previously unaffected nations like Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda, have reported Mpox outbreaks. So far in 2024, these countries have confirmed 2,863 cases and 517 deaths.
Read more about the CDC’s work with preventing pathogen spread in global transportation, here.