MORE THAN 1,000 MONKEYPOX CASES IN PREVIOUSLY UNAFFECTED STATES: WHO

Thu 09 June 2022:

Since May, the number of registered monekypox cases in countries not previously infected with the virus has risen to over 1,000, according to World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

On Wednesday, the number of infections recorded in Germany increased to 113, a significant increase over the previous day’s total of 80. The numbers originate from the Robert Koch Institute for national disease control, which stated that all individuals infected so far are men.

Additional cases of monkeypox have been discovered in England and Scotland, increasing the total number of cases in the United Kingdom to 321 as of Tuesday, according to the UK Health Security Agency.

According to the WHO, it is not clear whether an infection – unlike smallpox, which was eradicated in 1980 – gives lifelong immunity. Cases are known from Africa in which people have been reinfected after recovery, monkeypox expert Rosamund Lewis said.

While individual infections have been reported in women, so far the majority concern men who have sex with men, she said. It is important for those affected to isolate themselves if they show symptoms and to avoid contact with family members, Lewis stressed.

The virus is usually transmitted through physical contact.

The World Health Organization is currently assessing how much smallpox vaccine is available around the world. According to the organization, governments have stockpiled supplies in case of a new outbreak. This vaccination is also effective against monkeypox because it comes from the same virus family.

According to the agency, there is enough vaccine to stop the present epidemics. If the number of cases continues to climb, more vaccination will be required, according to WHO expert Sylvie Briand. The World Health Organization is in discussions with vaccine makers concerning capacity. Smallpox is considered a more serious disease than monkeypox.

Tedros recalled that the first case of monkeypox in a human was detected in Africa as early as 1970. More than 1,400 people have been infected since the beginning of the year and 66 have died in the continent, he said.

“This virus has been circulating and killing in Africa for decades,” Tedros said. “It’s an unfortunate reflection of the world we live in that the international community is only now paying attention to monkeypox because it has appeared in high-income countries.”

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