The Emergency Is Over, the Disease Is Not

On 5 September 2025, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus announced that mpox was no longer a public health emergency of international concern. WHO had issued its highest alert in August 2024, when a new form of the virus spread from the Democratic Republic of the Congo to neighbouring countries. Source: The Star, 5 Sep 2025

In the same announcement, WHO said mpox remains a public health concern worldwide, and one Emergency Committee member warned that removing the emergency must not mean losing urgency.

The numbers since then bear that out:

• A WHO report dated 14 September 2026 counted 68,096 confirmed cases and 272 deaths in 107 countries between 1 January 2025 and 31 August 2026.
• In Thailand, the DDC reported 470 cases and 3 deaths in 2026 up to 31 October. Source: Hfocus, 3 Nov 2026

Why Workplaces Need a Plan, Even Though Mpox Is Not as Contagious as Flu

Since 2022 the DDC has stressed that mpox does not spread easily and generally requires very close contact. Source: Bangkok Biznews, 5 Aug 2022

But the DDC's latest guidance also says it can spread through towels, clothing, bedding and items contaminated with bodily fluids or scabs. Workplaces have more of these than most people think:

• Staff dormitories and factory housing with shared bedding, blankets and towels.
• Shower and locker rooms in factories and construction sites.
• Shared uniforms or uniforms laundered together.
• In-house first-aid rooms where sick employees lie on beds and sheets.
• Prayer rooms, rest rooms and nursing rooms with cushions or carpets.
• High-touch points: door handles, stair rails, lift buttons, fingerprint scanners and meeting tables.

What Happens When an Employee Is Diagnosed

• A long absence. Confirmed patients must isolate until lesions heal, scabs fall off and new skin forms, according to the DDC.
• Colleagues panic and ask whether desks, toilets and meeting rooms are safe.
• Rumours spread, which can lead to stigma that the DDC specifically asks the public to avoid.
• Privacy questions. Employers must protect employees' health information.
• Production impact. Without a plan, emergency closures for cleaning take far longer than they should.

Common Mistakes Employers Make

• Shutting the whole building in a panic, instead of focusing on areas the patient actually used.
• Announcing the patient's name, creating stigma and possibly breaching personal data rules.
• Sending housekeepers in without protective equipment.
• Dry sweeping, which the US CDC advises against. Source: US CDC
• No disinfection provider lined up in advance, so the company scrambles when a case occurs.

A Five-Step Workplace Mpox Plan

1. Educate employees on symptoms: fever, headache, muscle aches, swollen lymph nodes, and a rash or bumps that become blisters, pustules and scabs. Explain that diagnosis is confirmed by PCR from a lesion.
2. Use a sick-leave policy that encourages reporting, so employees with symptoms come forward and see a doctor without fear of losing income or being stigmatized.
3. Manage spaces and personal items: separate towels and bedding in dormitories, avoid sharing personal items, and use wet cleaning methods.
4. Clean high-touch points regularly with a product labeled to kill viruses, following the label's contact time.
5. Have a procedure for confirmed cases: close only the affected areas, coordinate with health authorities, handle linen without shaking it, and call a professional disinfection team.

Why Organizations Choose Chemgene and WHD's Disinfection Service

The mpox virus is an enveloped virus, the type that suitable disinfectants can inactivate when used correctly and left for the full contact time.

World Health Disinfection provides spraying with CHEMGENE HLD4H, a concentrated disinfectant imported from the United Kingdom. According to our service page, the product references testing to the European standard EN 14476, and our ULV machines are described as tested by Thailand's Department of Medical Sciences. We serve offices, factories, banks, meeting rooms and government sites. See the disinfection service

Ten reasons it suits offices and factories:

1. Treatment outside working hours, without interrupting production or meetings.
2. Fast return to use. Under our service process, spaces can be used about 30 minutes after spraying.
3. Covers large areas. ULV equipment spreads a fine mist evenly.
4. European-standard disinfectant, referencing EN 14476 per product information.
5. Suited to staff dormitories and shared showers, where fabrics and surfaces are shared.
6. Safe for office equipment. Our service page describes the product as suitable for materials and electronics.
7. Confidential. We never disclose information about sick employees.
8. Flexible scheduling: monthly, quarterly or emergency call-outs.
9. Tax invoices and 3% withholding tax for juristic persons.
10. More than five years of experience across many building types.

Before and After a Plan

Before

• A case is found and nobody knows where to start.
• Employees trade rumours in group chats.
• Whole floors close for longer than necessary.
• Housekeepers clean without protective equipment.

After

• A written procedure, and everyone knows their role.
• Only affected areas close, and they reopen quickly.
• Spaces are disinfected professionally.
• Employees feel confident, and the patient is not stigmatized.

For HR and Safety Teams

• Add mpox to the organization's communicable disease plan, alongside respiratory illnesses.
• Store employee health information securely, and share only what health officials need.
• Communicate with staff using official sources such as the DDC and its 1422 hotline.
• Check cleaning contracts to make sure contractors use products that kill viruses and wet cleaning methods.
• Rehearse the plan once a year.

Frequently Asked Questions

If an employee is sick, must we close the whole office? Usually not. Focus on cleaning and disinfecting the areas the patient actually used, and follow health officials' advice.

Should we disinfect in advance? For shared fabrics and surfaces, such as dormitories and communal showers, scheduled disinfection reduces surface risk alongside daily cleaning.

Do we tell other employees? Share what is necessary for safety without revealing the patient's identity, and let health officials handle contact tracing.

When can the employee return? As advised by their doctor, generally after lesions have healed, scabs have fallen off and new skin has formed.

Sources and Related Links

• WHD disinfection spraying service
• Chemgene disinfectants
• World Health Disinfection homepage
• The Star: WHO ends the mpox emergency
• Hfocus: Thailand's 2026 mpox figures

The Emergency Can End, Preparedness Should Not

WHO lifting the emergency was good news, but the case numbers in Thailand and worldwide show that organizations still need to be ready. A good plan does not create panic. It means that when a real case happens, everyone knows what to do and the business keeps running.

World Health Disinfection is ready to be your disinfection partner with CHEMGENE HLD4H for offices, factories, staff dormitories and every kind of building.

Call 065-556-6294 or add LINE @whd268 to plan a service and request a quotation.

Call 065-556-6294 | LINE: @whd268