Monkeypox is not as contagious as COVID-19

More countries continue to record cases of monkeypox. Meanwhile, the World Health Organization said it was working with the UK and European health officials to assess the risk of new outbreaks.

On May 20, Australia announced that it had recorded an infection monkey pox The first is a tourist who has just returned from Europe, another suspected case is being diagnosed further.

Before that, a series of countries such as the US, Canada, Portugal, Spain, UK, Italy and Sweden also reported having recorded cases of monkeypox, which is endemic only in many areas of Africa. .

Mr. Jimmy Whitworth, professor of public health at the London School of Tropical Medicine, said: “As countries are reopening and people are starting to travel, this is an opportunity for infectious diseases to spread. Monkeypox has increased in recent years in West and Central Africa, there are incubated cases in West Africa that are traveling and may provide an opportunity for the disease to emerge in Europe.”

Although an alarming phenomenon, experts say that monkeypox is not capable of spreading as quickly as COVID-19. “We need to grasp and control the situation as quickly as possible, but there is no need to panic. It will not spread and enter the community, causing a pandemic like COVID-19” – Professor Jimmy Whitworth said.

The World Health Organization said it is working with the UK and European health officials to assess the situation. The agency also released data showing that the current smallpox vaccine is up to 85 percent effective against monkeypox.

Monkeypox is a rare virus with a mortality rate of about 10%. Viruses can enter through skin wounds, respiratory tract, eyes, nose or mouth, spread through respiratory droplets or bodily fluids. Symptoms appear within 5 to 21 days of infection with the virus and include fever, rash, and muscle aches.

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