WHO Reports More Than 500 Cases of Monkeypox in 30 Countries

The World Health Organization's (WHO) leading expert on monkeypox, Rosamund Lewis, confirmed the presence of the virus in at least 30 non-endemic countries, which have reported more than 500 cases to date.

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Lewis assured that the cases are appearing in relatively short periods of time, and although the origin of the outbreak is unknown, she asked nations to take advantage of this window period in order to avoid a greater number of infected people, who could be children or immunocompromised persons.

The WHO also revealed that so far most of the cases have been reported by sexual health institutions that treat men who have sex with men, although it insists that anyone can become infected, hence the need to expand epidemiological surveillance.

Despite the fact that the virus is not new and there is a knowledge base about it, there are still many unknowns about its current behavior, since the sudden appearance in three dozen countries suggests that transmission may have started some time ago, without having been detected, according to the technical leader of the group for this pathology, appointed by the WHO.

The international health agency announced Tuesday that from the beginning of the year until mid-May, cases of the disease were detected in seven African countries where monkeypox is considered endemic.

Meanwhile, the virus has also been reported in European countries such as Spain, Belgium, Canada, Australia, United Kingdom, Portugal, France, Italy, Sweden, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Norway, Denmark, Netherlands, Slovenia, Czech Republic, Israel, United Arab Emirates, Finland, Ireland, and Malta; and in the American region, Mexico, Argentina, Canada, and, the United States.

Monkeypox produces a clinical picture similar to those caused by smallpox in the past but with less severity, and vaccines to eradicate this disease are reported to be 85 percent effective. Transmission of monkeypox occurs through close contact with the skin lesions or respiratory droplets of infected persons, or by touching contaminated objects.