NEW YORK – Global health officials have warned of growing cases in Europe and elsewhere of monkeypox, a type of viral infection more common in West and Central Africa.
As of Saturday, 92 confirmed cases and 28 suspected cases of monkeypox from 12 non-endemic countries were reported, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
The UN agency said it expects to identify more cases of monkeypox as it expands surveillance to countries where the disease is not usually detected and will provide additional guidance and recommendations in the coming days for countries on how to mitigate the spread of monkeypox.
The following is known about the current epidemic and the relative risk of monkeypox:
How dangerous is it?
The risk to the general public is low at the moment, a U.S. public health official told reporters at a briefing on Friday. Read the whole story
Monkeypox is a virus that can cause symptoms, including fever, pain, and manifests itself with a distinctive uneven rash.
It is associated with smallpox, but is usually milder, especially the West African strain of the virus, which has been identified in a case in the United States that has a mortality rate of about 1%. Most people recover completely in two to four weeks, the official said.
The virus is not as easily transmitted as the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which caused the global COVID-19 pandemic.
Experts believe that the current monkeypox epidemic is spreading through close, intimate skin when in contact with someone who has an active rash. This should make it easier to limit its spread once infections are identified, experts said.
“COVID is spread by the respiratory tract and is highly contagious. That doesn’t seem to be the case with monkeypox, “said Dr. Martin Hirsch of Massachusetts General Hospital.
“What seems to be happening now is that it has entered the population as a sexual form, as a genital form and is spreading, as well as sexually transmitted infections, which has increased its transmission worldwide,” said WHO official David Hayman. infectious diseases, he told Reuters.
What are health experts worried about?
Recent outbreaks reported so far are atypical, according to the WHO, as they occur in countries where the virus does not circulate regularly. Scientists are trying to understand the origins of the current cases and whether anything about the virus has changed.
Most of the cases reported so far have been found in the United Kingdom, Spain and Portugal. There have also been cases in Canada and Australia, and one case of monkeypox has been confirmed in Boston, with public health officials saying more cases are likely in the United States.
WHO officials have expressed concern that more infections could occur as people gather for festivals, parties and holidays in the coming summer months in Europe and elsewhere. Read the whole story
How can people protect themselves from infection?
The United Kingdom has started vaccinating healthcare professionals who may be at risk while caring for patients with the smallpox vaccine, which can also protect against monkeypox. The U.S. government says it has enough smallpox vaccine stored in its Strategic National Reserve (SNS) to vaccinate the entire U.S. population.
There are antiviral drugs for smallpox that can also be used to treat monkeypox in certain circumstances, a spokesman for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services said in a statement.
More generally, health officials say people should avoid close personal contact with someone who has a rash or who is otherwise unwell. People who suspect they have monkeypox should isolate themselves and seek medical attention.
What can be hidden behind the peak in the cases?
“Viruses are nothing new and expected,” said Angela Rasmussen, a virologist at the Organization for Vaccines and Infectious Diseases at the University of Saskatchewan in Canada.
Rasmussen said a number of factors, including increased global travel and climate change, have accelerated the emergence and spread of viruses. The world is also on the lookout for new outbreaks of all kinds since the COVID pandemic, she said.
(Report by Michael Hermann; additional reports by Jennifer Rigby and Natalie Grover in London Edited by Michelle Gershberg, Bill Bercrot and Francis Carey)
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