WHO: 92 Confirmed Cases of Monkeypox in 12 Countries

Confirmed cases of monkeypox today rose to 92 in a dozen countries, according to a statement from the World Health Organization (WHO). According to the international entity, to date no deaths have been reported while another 28 individuals remain under investigation.

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The report also added that the identification of monkeypox sufferers and suspects without direct travel links to an endemic area represents a highly unusual event.

According to the report, the source and route of contagion of the current outbreak has not yet been established, and to date, all the cases whose samples were confirmed by PCR correspond to the infection of the West African strain.

The European continent has the largest number of cases with reports in the United Kingdom, Spain, Portugal, Germany, Belgium, France, the Netherlands, Italy and Sweden. Outside of that continental area, there is also a presence of the virus in the United States, Canada and Australia.

Monkeypox spreads through personal contact, and care should focus on affected individuals and their close contacts, the WHO said. “Those who interact closely with someone who is sick are at higher risk of infection: this includes healthcare workers, household members and sexual partners,” he said.

The virus is endemic in some animal populations in several countries, especially in remote areas of central and western Africa, causing occasional infections among locals and travellers. According to the entity, there are no specific treatments or vaccines against the infection, although outbreaks can be controlled.

The condition is characterized in its beginnings by the appearance of fever, intense headache and muscle pain while, in a second moment, a pinkish skin rash appears with an evolution of flat-based lesions to fluid-filled blisters.