1/6/2022–|Last update: 2/6/202212:26 AM (Mecca)
The World Health Organization on Wednesday confirmed more than 550 confirmed cases of monkeypox in 30 non-endemic countries, amid warnings from health experts that outbreaks of diseases such as monkeypox and Lassa fever are becoming more regular.
The Director-General of the United Nations, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said – in a press conference – that the majority of confirmed cases “were among men who had sex with men who showed symptoms of the disease.”
He described the current health situation as “evolving,” adding, “We expect that more cases will continue to be discovered.”
“Investigations are ongoing, but the sudden appearance in several countries at the same time indicates that there may have been transmission that has been undetected for some time.”
Ghebreyesus urged the affected countries to expand their surveillance, and to search for and monitor cases of infection.
Earlier today, Wednesday, the World Health Organization announced the diagnosis of more than 1,400 cases of “monkeypox” in 7 African countries: Cameroon, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Liberia, Nigeria, Congo and Sierra Leone.
She added that the injuries include 44 confirmed cases, and 1,392 suspected cases.
Symptoms of the disease appear in the form of fever, swollen lymph nodes, muscle aches and sore throat, in addition to fatigue, chills, and a rash similar to chickenpox on the hands, face, soles of the feet, genitals and other parts of the body.
Monkeypox was first discovered in 1958, when a disease similar to smallpox appeared in laboratory monkeys, hence the name.
animal infection
In a parallel context, the Director of Emergency at the World Health Organization, Mike Ryan, warned – today, Wednesday – that outbreaks of endemic diseases such as monkeypox and Lassa fever, are becoming more and more regular.
As climate change contributes to rapidly changing weather conditions such as drought, animals and humans are altering their behaviour, including foraging habits. As a result, Ryan said, “environmental fragility” diseases that normally circulate in animals are increasingly jumping to humans.
“Unfortunately, this ability to amplify this disease and transmit it within our societies is increasing, so the factors for the emergence and spread of the disease have increased,” he added.
Ryan added that, for example, there is an upward trend in cases of Lassa fever, an acute viral disease spread by rodents that is endemic to Africa.