WHO works on more guidance to curb the spread of monkeypox

The World Health Organization (WHO) is working on more guidance for countries on how to mitigate the spread of monkeypox, amid concerns that cases could rise further in the summer months in the Northern Hemisphere, an official told Reuters. senior adviser to the agency, which belongs to the UN.

Based on the cases identified so far, the WHO hypothesizes that the outbreak is being caused by sexual contact, said David Heymann, chair of the Strategic and Technical Advisory Group on Infectious Risks with Pandemic and Epidemic Potential. He led a meeting on the outbreak this Friday (20).

Monkeypox is a generally mild infectious disease, and is endemic in parts of West and Central Africa. It is transmitted by close contact, which means it can be contained with some ease through measures such as isolation and hygiene as soon as a new case is identified.

The outbreak in 11 countries is highly unusual, according to scientists. More than a hundred confirmed or suspected cases have been reported, most of them in Europe.

First identified in monkeys, the disease has rarely spread beyond Africa, which has raised concerns about the current case series.

Scientists, however, do not expect the outbreak to evolve into a pandemic like Covid-19, as the virus does not transmit as easily as Sars-Cov-2.

Monkeypox is a mild viral disease characterized by symptoms such as fever and characteristic skin rashes.

“With several confirmed cases in the UK, Spain and Portugal, this is the biggest and most widespread outbreak of monkeypox ever recorded in Europe,” said the German Armed Forces medical service, which detected the country’s first case on Friday. .

Fabian Leendertz of the Robert Koch Institute in Germany described the outbreak as an epidemic.

“Although this epidemic is very unlikely to last long. Cases can be well isolated through contact tracing, and there are also effective drugs and vaccines that can be used if necessary,” he said.