The World Health Organization has warned that 200 cases of monkeypox found in recent weeks outside countries where the virus usually circulates may be just the beginning.
“We don’t know if we just see the tip of the iceberg [or] if there are many more cases that are not found in the communities, “admitted Sylvie Brian, head of the WHO’s Preparedness and Prevention for Epidemics and Pandemics, at a briefing on Friday.
Since the UK first reported a confirmed case of monkeypox on May 7, nearly 200 cases have been reported to the UN Health Agency in countries far from the states where the virus is endemic.
The European Center for Disease Prevention and Control has set the number of these cases at 219.
Endemic in a number of West and Central African countries, cases of monkeypox have suddenly been found in more than 20 other countries around the world, including the United States, Australia, the United Arab Emirates and nearly a dozen EU countries.
The Spanish Ministry of Health announced on Friday that 98 cases have been confirmed so far, while the United Kingdom currently has 90 confirmed infections.
Portugal, meanwhile, has registered 74 confirmed cases, health officials said on Friday, adding that all cases were in men, mostly under the age of 40.
Argentina confirmed the first two cases of monkeypox in Latin America on Friday.
“We are still at the very beginning of this event,” Brian told member states attending the World Health Assembly in Geneva. “We know we will have more cases in the coming days,” she said, but stressed that there was no need to panic.
“This is not a disease that the general public should be worried about. Covid or other diseases do not spread quickly. “
Smallpox is associated with smallpox, a deadly disease that was eradicated in 1980. But smallpox is much less severe, with a mortality rate of 3-6%. Most people recover within three to four weeks.
Initial symptoms include fever, swollen lymph nodes, and chickenpox-like rash.
There aren’t many treatments, but there are some antivirals developed against smallpox, including one recently approved by the European Agency for Smallpox, Brian said.
Vaccines developed for smallpox have also been found to be about 85% effective in preventing monkeypox.
However, because smallpox has not been a threat for more than four decades, most people under the age of 45 have not received the vaccine, and the supply of injections is very limited today.
Brian said experts were trying to determine what caused the “unusual situation”, saying preliminary investigations did not appear to indicate that the virus that caused monkeypox had changed or mutated.
She expressed hope that the spread could be stopped. “We have a good opportunity to stop the broadcast now,” she said. “If we take the right measures now, we will probably be able to easily limit this.
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