WHO warns of more cases of monkeypox globally

Director of the Institute of Microbiology of the German Armed Forces Roman Woelfel studies smallpox in monkeys – Photo: REUTERS

In its announcement on May 21, WHO said it expected to identify many cases of the disease monkey pox because it has expanded surveillance in countries where the disease is not common.

WHO also said it will provide more guidance and recommendations in the coming days to countries on how to reduce the spread of monkeypox. Accordingly, current evidence suggests that there is human-to-human transmission in people who have been in close physical contact with symptomatic cases.

Some countries have begun vaccination with smallpox vaccine to prevent monkeypox.

Recently, many Western countries have continuously reported cases of monkeypox infection. According to the WHO report, the UK, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Belgium, Australia, the Netherlands, Portugal, Sweden, the US… have reported many infections.

In particular, Portugal, Spain and the UK are currently the 3 countries most affected by monkeypox in Europe, with 21-30 cases.

Canada, which has 1-5 cases of monkeypox, said it would use its stockpile of vaccines against smallpox to prevent monkeypox from spreading.

Exchange with Youth Online On the evening of May 21, a representative of the Preventive Medicine Department under the Ministry of Health said that the department would soon send a written request to localities to strengthen surveillance and prevent monkeypox from entering.

According to him, the main cause of monkeypox has not been identified yet, but the most feared route of transmission is through direct contact. Unlike the mysterious hepatitis that is also causing concern, monkeypox is expected to become more complicated because it is easier to spread.