In the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported 12 cases in eight states as of Friday afternoon.
In five African countries where monkeypox is common, the WHO has said it has reported 1,365 cases and 69 deaths due to the virus. These diseases have been reported in different periods, ranging from mid-December to late May.
No deaths have been reported in non-endemic countries.
“Since 2017, the few deaths of people with monkeypox in West Africa have been linked to young age or untreated HIV infection,” the WHO report said Sunday.
The agency said the global level of public health risk is moderate, “given that this is the first time that cases and clusters of monkeypox have been reported simultaneously in many different WHO geographical areas and without known epidemiological links with non-endemic countries in West or Central Africa. “
The WHO also said in its update: “The risk to public health can be high if this virus is used to establish itself as a human pathogen and spread to groups at higher risk of serious diseases such as young children and immunosuppressed people.
The agency urges healthcare providers to watch closely for possible symptoms such as rash, fever, swollen lymph nodes, headaches, back pain, muscle aches and fatigue, and to offer tests to anyone who has these symptoms.
However, given that most initial cases of this outbreak have been reported among men who have sex with men, “every effort must be made” to avoid stigmatizing the people and communities affected, the WHO said.
Monkeypox is an extremely rare viral disease, similar to smallpox, but considered by the WHO to be less severe clinically. The disease eventually progresses to rashes and lesions that form blisters and scabs. This can happen all over the body. The disease usually lasts two to four weeks.
Smallpox is not a sexually transmitted disease, but it can be spread through intimate contact during sex when someone has an active rash.
Scientists have sequenced the genetic code of virus samples from patients in the outbreak to learn more about its origins, but “preliminary data confirm that the genomes belong to the West African monkeypox virus’s treasure trove,” according to the WHO.
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