WHO Confirms More Than 760 Cases of Monkeypox in 27 Countries

The World Health Organization (WHO) reported on Sunday that 780 people have been confirmed infected with monkeypox in 27 countries in four regions where the virus is not endemic.

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In a report on cases detected since May 13 to date, when the outbreak began, and June 2, WHO noted that these have mainly, but not exclusively, involved men who have sex with men (MSM).

The WHO specified that "most of the cases are not associated with travel from endemic areas", but to North America and Europe.

According to the report, the above "suggests that there may have been undetected transmission for an unknown period of time, followed by recent amplifying events."

"This is the first time that many cases and clusters of monkeypox have been reported simultaneously in non-endemic and endemic countries in widely disparate geographic areas," the WHO said, and therefore assesses the global risk as moderate.

On the other hand, it is noteworthy that as of June 2 no deaths were reported in the current outbreak, while in African countries where the virus is endemic there were infections and deaths.

These countries include Cameroon, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Gabon, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Nigeria, Republic of Congo and Sierra Leone.

Since January 1, these countries have reported 1,408 suspected cases, including 44 confirmed cases, and 66 deaths (of which 58 in the DRC).

Among other issues, the report notes that the nations with the highest number of cases in the current outbreak are the United Kingdom (207), Spain (156) and Portugal (138). They are followed by Canada (58), Germany (57) and France (33).

The WHO pointed out that, although investigations are ongoing, preliminary data from PCR assays indicate that the genes detected in the current outbreak correspond to the variant of the virus transmitted in West Africa.

According to media reports, monkeypox can be transmitted from animals to humans, and produces symptoms such as fever, headache and muscle pain, swollen lymph nodes, chills and exhaustion.

It also causes pustular rashes on the hands and face, similar to those produced by traditional smallpox, although less severe. Transmission is verified by close contact with an infected person, a carrier animal or contaminated objects.

According to WHO, its case fatality rate has varied in different outbreaks, but has been less than 10 percent.