The World Health Organization (WHO) this month declared the increasing spread of the Mpox virus a global health emergency and warned that the virus could ultimately spread from Africa – where it is currently spreading – to other parts of the world.

However, public health officials and medical professionals are quick to point out that Mpox (which was renamed from “monkeypox” by the WHO in 2022) is very different from COVID-19.

To separate fact from fiction, PEOPLE spoke with Karl Minges, Ph.D. MPH, associate professor of public health at the University of New Haven, about the virus and its current spread.

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Is Mpox the new COVID-19?

In a word: No. “The WHO made it painfully clear with its announcement of an emergency alert that this is not the new COVID,” Minges tells PEOPLE.

As Minges explains, the WHO issues such emergency alerts to “promote acceleration of vaccine access for low-income countries.”

In other words, declaring a “global health emergency” is not necessarily a means of warning people around the world about the potential risk of exposure to the virus, but rather of giving organizations like UNICEF the opportunity to “procure vaccines for distribution.”

“This will give us more tools to support people in the most affected areas,” adds Minges.

Unlike the early days of COVID-19, much more is known today about Mpox, which “was first identified in laboratory monkeys in the late 1950s,” Minges says.

“Since the 1970s, human cases have been documented and much more is known about it,” he adds.

The reason why more people are talking about Mpox on TikTok, Instagram and in news articles is a new variant.

“Like most viruses, it has mutated,” Minges notes. “But we know how important surveillance and disease prevention is – and it’s also important to know that a vaccine is available and approved by the FDA. The treatment is much more reliable than it was for (COVID-19 when the pandemic began).”

Is Mpox an emergency in the US?

Not currently. The Biden administration declared the virus a public health emergency in August 2022 after facing criticism of the government’s lack of response. At the time, the administration announced it would increase testing for the virus and replenish the country’s limited supply of an Mpox vaccine.

However, in January 2023, the US government announced the lifting of the public health emergency related to Mpox, citing a significant decline in cases.

Since then, the virus has continued to spread in other parts of the world. The WHO estimates that there have been more than 14,000 cases in Africa this year – a figure that exceeds last year’s numbers by 160%. What is perhaps more worrying is that the virus has mutated, although no cases of the new mutation (known as Clade I) have been reported in the United States.

What distinguishes the new variant of the virus from the one that spread in 2022?

The Clade I variant is “more severe and causes a higher mortality rate,” says Minges. However, here too, the cases have been reported almost exclusively in Africa and Asia (with the exception of one case recently reported in Sweden).

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention notes that Clade I “causes more severe disease and death” and that “some outbreaks have killed up to 10% of those who became ill”—but the agency notes that recent outbreaks have resulted in lower death rates. Clade I is endemic to Central Africa.

The variant that spread in 2022 is known as Clade II and causes less severe infections (according to the CDC, more than 99.9% of people with Clade II mpox survive). Clade II spread in the US, but prevalence has since stabilized.

The way the variant spreads may also vary, but the virus continues to be studied as it evolves.

The Clade II virus primarily affected gay and bisexual men. According to a CDC report, since January 2023, about two-thirds of the estimated 20,000 suspected cases of the newer Clade I variant in the Democratic Republic of Congo have been in children.

As Minges notes, both variants also have “an element of zoonotic transmission,” meaning the disease can be passed between animals and humans (either by eating raw meat from an infected animal or by touching an infected animal).

However, human-to-human contact, especially within households, remains the biggest concern in the current spread of the virus in Africa.

Do people have to be afraid of becoming infected with the virus when traveling to affected areas?

The most important thing when traveling internationally to areas with known MPOX outbreaks is to get vaccinated, Minges says.

“There is an approved vaccine that offers the best protection you can have,” he says. “It’s two doses, four weeks apart. And if someone already has Mpox, they don’t need the vaccine because the body has developed resistance.”

If you’re traveling to a country with an Mpox outbreak, it’s also important to lower your risk during sexual encounters or any kind of close personal contact with someone who might have the virus or appears to have a rash. But protection goes beyond sex, he notes.

“When you travel and attend raves, parties, clubs, or places where minimal clothing is allowed, there may be direct skin-to-skin contact where you may not even see or notice the rash on someone,” he says. “Avoid risky social gatherings in an area where there is an Mpox outbreak.”

As with any virus, disinfecting and washing your hands should be your top priority.

“As always, vulnerable individuals, children and older adults should consider vaccination when they are around high-risk groups where the transmission rate is higher,” he adds. “The new variant has shown to be more contagious, but again, there are no documented cases in North America to date.”