After days of anxiety in the world over the spread of the monkeypox virus in a number of countries, relatively reassuring statements were issued by the World Health Organization and the European Health Agency.
A senior executive of the World Health Organization said Monday that the organization has no evidence that the monkeypox virus has mutated, noting that the disease, which is endemic in West and Central Africa, has not changed.
“The mutations are usually fewer with this virus, but the genetic sequencing of cases will help to better identify and understand the current wave of spread,” Rosamund Lewis, director of the Smallpox Department of the WHO emergency program, told reporters.
And the mutations that occur in viruses to produce other copies of them, and hinder the efforts of scientists to search for ways to prevent or treat the diseases that cause them.
In the same context, the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (European Health Agency) announced on Monday that the risk of the rare disease spreading among the population on a large scale is “extremely low”.
“Most of the current cases were accompanied by mild symptoms of the disease, and for the general public, the probability of spread is very low,” said Andrea Amon, the agency’s director.
But, she added, “the possibility of the virus spreading through close contact between people with multiple sexual partners was considered high.”
As of May 21, the World Health Organization has received reports of 92 laboratory-confirmed cases of monkeypox, and 28 suspected cases from 12 countries where the disease is not spreading, including several European countries, the United States, Australia and Canada.
And on Monday, the Agency for Infectious Diseases in Denmark announced the confirmation of the first infection with the disease in the Scandinavian country.
European Commissioner for Health and Food Safety Stella Kyriakidis said: “I am concerned regarding the increasing number of monkeypox cases in the European Union and the world. We are monitoring the situation closely.”
She indicated that while the probability of the epidemic spreading “amongst the wider population is low”, it is necessary to “maintain vigilance” and ensure that contacts are traced and appropriate examinations are carried out.
Symptoms of monkeypox include fever, muscle aches, swollen lymph glands, chills, fatigue, and a rash on the hands and face.
There is no cure for the disease yet, but symptoms usually resolve following 2 to 4 weeks.
The disease is spread in 11 African countries.
According to the European Agency, the virus can cause severe illness in certain groups such as children, pregnant women and people with immunodeficiency.
The agency also noted the risk of transmission from humans to animals, which it said might carry a “risk of becoming a disease common in Europe.”
