WHO: Over 550 Cases Of Monkeypox Recorded In Non-Endemic Countries
The Director-General of the World Health Organisation (WHO), Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has announced that confirmed cases of Monkeypox have exceeded five hundred and fifty (550) in non endemic countries.
He noted that these cases are from thirty (30) countries.
“Now for an update on monkeypox. More than 550 confirmed cases have now been reported to WHO, from 30 countries that are not endemic for monkeypox virus”, he said.
He believes the sudden appearance of monkeypox in many countries at the same time “suggests there may have been undetected transmission for some time”.
He noted that most of the cases have been reported among men who have sex with men presenting with symptoms at sexual health clinics.
The Director-General of the WHO also cautioned the general public against stigmatising persons infected with the virus.
“All of us must work hard to fight stigma, which is not just wrong, it could also prevent infected individuals from seeking care, making it harder to stop transmission”.
In the meantime, Tedros noted that “Investigations are ongoing,”
According to the WHO, Monkeypox endemic countries are: Benin, Cameroon, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Gabon, Ghana (identified in animals only), Ivory Coast, Liberia, Nigeria, the Republic of the Congo, Sierra Leone, and South Sudan.
Monkeypox is a viral zoonosis (a virus transmitted to humans from animals) with symptoms very similar to those seen in the past in smallpox patients, although it is clinically less severe.
It is caused by the monkeypox virus which belongs to the orthopoxvirus genus of the Poxviridae family. There are two clades of monkeypox virus: the West African clade and the Congo Basin (Central African) clade.
The name monkeypox originates from the initial discovery of the virus in monkeys in a Danish laboratory in 1958. The first human case was identified in a child in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in 1970.
Monkeypox virus is transmitted from one person to another by close contact with lesions, body fluids, respiratory droplets and contaminated materials such as bedding. The incubation period of monkeypox is usually from 6 to 13 days but can range from 5 to 21 days.
Various animal species have been identified as susceptible to the monkeypox virus.
Source: opemsuo.com/Hajara Fuseini
