Updated on 05/27/2022 at 18:56
- Monkeypox continues to spread.
- So far, the World Health Organization has reported 200 cases from countries where the virus does not usually spread.
- According to the WHO, the number of unreported cases is likely to be significantly higher.
The World Health Organization (WHO) warned on Friday that the spread of monkeypox may have only just begun. “We don’t know if we’re just seeing the tip of the iceberg,” said Sylvie Briand, director of the WHO’s Infection Risk Preparedness Unit, on Friday at the World Health Assembly in Geneva. However, Briand expressed the hope that the spread might be stopped soon.
The current spread of the monkeypox virus is “unusual,” Briand said. Since the UK reported the first case of monkeypox on May 7, 200 cases have been reported to the WHO from countries where the virus does not commonly spread. The EU health authority ECDC registered 219 such cases.
Monkeypox is endemic in several countries in West and Central Africa, so it occurs there constantly and frequently. Recently, however, monkeypox was also found in 20 other countries – including Germany, Austria, Switzerland, France and the USA.
Also read: Monkeypox: What everyone should now know regarding contagion
The spread is “still in its infancy,” said Briand on Friday. “We know that there will be more cases in the coming days,” she continued – but added that there was no reason to panic. The general population must “not be afraid”. She continued: “It’s not Covid-19 or any other disease that spreads quickly.”
Expert Briand gives hope that the virus will be contained soon
Experts are therefore trying to find out what caused the current unusual spread. However, the first investigations did not provide any evidence of a change or mutation of the virus. “We have a good chance of stopping the transmission now,” Briand continued. “If we take the right measures now, we can easily contain this.”
Monkeypox is related to smallpox, which killed millions of people every year for centuries until the disease was eradicated in 1980. However, monkeypox is considerably less dangerous. Most patients recover within a few weeks, and fatal outcomes are rare. (MSS/AFP)
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Updated on 05/26/2022 13:02
Can the currently occurring monkeypox become permanently established in animal populations? That’s what experts from the Friedrich-Löffler-Institute (FLI) for animal health say.