WHO sounds monkeypox alert

 In 30 nations, there have been more than 550 confirmed cases of the disease.

WHO sounds monkeypox alert

Hundreds more monkeypox cases have been reported outside of the African countries where the disease is generally found, according to the WHO, which warns that the virus is likely spreading under the radar.

"Investigations are ongoing," World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told reporters. "However, the rapid development of monkeypox in multiple countries at the same time shows there may have been undiscovered transmission for some time."

More than 550 confirmed cases of monkeypox have been validated in 30 countries outside of the west and central African countries where it is endemic since Britain first reported a confirmed case on May 7, according to the WHO.

The development of so many cases over most of Europe and other countries where it has never been seen before, according to the UN's top monkeypox expert Rosamund Lewis, "is certainly a matter of concern, and it does suggest undetected transmission for a while."

"We don't know if it'll be weeks, months, or years," she added, adding that "we don't really know if it'll be too late to contain."

Monkeypox is related to smallpox, a disease that killed millions of people each year before being eradicated in 1980.

Monkeypox, on the other hand, is far less severe and spreads by intimate contact, with symptoms including a high fever and a blistery chickenpox-like rash that clears up after a few weeks.

Although scientists emphasize that there is no proof that monkeypox is transmitted sexually, the majority of cases have been documented among men who have sex with men.

"Anyone can contract monkeypox if they come into close personal contact with an infected person," Tedros explained.

He urged everyone to help "combat stigma, which is not only wrong, but it may also deter affected individuals from getting treatment, making transmission more difficult to stop."

He also stated that the WHO was "urging impacted nations to expand their surveillance."

Lewis emphasized that "we jointly all work together to prevent further spread" of the disease by tracking contacts and isolating infected persons.

Vaccines produced for smallpox have been shown to be 85 percent effective in preventing monkeypox, but supplies are limited.

The WHO is not advocating for mass vaccination, but rather for targeted immunization in some contexts to safeguard health workers and those who are most vulnerable to infection.

Monkeypox infections have been on the rise in endemic countries, where thousands fall ill each year, with roughly 70 deaths from the virus reported so far this year across five African countries, according to Lewis.

Monkeypox has a low fatality rate, and no deaths have been documented among cases found outside of endemic nations thus far.