Monkey pox is in the process of being renamed to avoid the name being used as a “weapon” or in a racist way, WHO emergency response director Mike Ryan said.
Over 18,000 cases of monkeypox have been reported worldwide by 78 countries, with majority of them in Europethe World Health Organization announced today.
On Saturday the WHERE declared this outbreak of the virus global health emergency.
So far, 98% of cases reported outside African countries, where the virus is endemic, have been traced to men who have sex with men, the WHO said.
The Director General of the Organization, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, urged this group to consider reducing the number of sexual partners and sharing contact information with any new partners.
“This is an outbreak that can be stopped … the best way to do that is to reduce the risk of exposure,” Tedros told a news conference in Geneva. “This means making safe choices for yourself and others.”
Monkey pox is in the process of being renamedto avoid the name being used as a “weapon” or in a racist way, WHO emergency response director Mike Ryan said.
The UN agency recommends vaccination for high-risk groups, including men who have sex with men who have multiple sexual partners, as well as vaccination of health workers.
He warned that it takes several weeks after receiving the second dose of the vaccine to gain full protection, so people should take other precautions until then.
About 10% of patients have been hospitalized in the current outbreak and five have died, all in Africa, the WHO said.
Tedros said about 16 million doses of approved vaccine are available, but only in bulk, so it will take many months to get them into vials.
The WHO is urging countries with stockpiles to share vaccines while supplies are limited, the head of the organization added.
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