Geneva: The monkeypox virus has spread to more than 20 countries, World Health Organization (WHO) said on Thursday and urged the world to ramp up surveillance of the infectious disease.
According to Maria Van Kerkhove, WHO’s COVID-19 technical lead, about 200 confirmed cases and over 100 suspected cases of monkeypox have been detected outside countries where it usually circulates.
No death has been reported so far.
“We expect more cases to be detected. We are asking countries to increase surveillance,” Van Kerkhove said during a Q & A session on WHO’s social media platforms, adding that the disease can be contained.
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“This is a containable situation. It will be difficult, but it’s a containable situation in the non-endemic countries,” she said.
The virus initially manifests itself with flu-like symptoms like fever, muscle aches, headaches, exhaustion and swollen lymph nodes. Then there are body rashes and puss-filled blisters which usually dry out and fall off.
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Monkeypox outbreaks have so long been reported from Central and West Africa countries over the last three-four decades, albeit at low levels.
In recent weeks, the virus has been detected in North America and Europe.
European Union (EU) has confirmed 118 cases of monkeypox, with Spain and Portugal contributing 51 and 37 cases, respectively, thus far.
The UK has confirmed 90 cases of the virus.
Nine cases of monkeypox have been detected in seven states across the US, while Canadian health officials reported 16 cases — all in Quebec province.
Health officials in EU, the UK and the US have said a majority of monkeypox patients are gay or bisexual men, suggesting that the virus is spreading through sex in a number of cases.
WHO officials, however, emphasized that monkeypox is not a sexually transmitted disease and can spread through sustained skin-to-skin contact with an infected person who has a lesion. The virus can also be transmitted through body fluids, contaminated bedsheets and clothing, or respiratory droplets.
Van Kerkhove stressed on the importance of raising awareness about who faces a higher risk, rather stigmatize anyone.
“It doesn’t mean that anyone with a rash will have monkeypox but we need to raise awareness about what monkeypox is and isn’t, and we need to ensure that countries have the capacity to test and provide the right information,” she said.
