The World Health Organization has been notified of 37 confirmed monkeypox cases, with further 71 suspected cases under scrutiny, a WHO spokesman told Sputnik on Friday
GENEVA (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 20th May, 2022) The World Health Organization has been notified of 37 confirmed monkeypox cases, with further 71 suspected cases under scrutiny, a WHO spokesman told Sputnik on Friday.
Tarik Jasarevic said that the UN health agency expected national governments to be on a lookout for more cases as the infectious disease continues to spread across Europe and North America.
Monkeypox is endemic in Africa but cases have recently been confirmed in the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, Belgium, Spain and Sweden as well as in the United States, Canada and Australia.
The disease is not typically fatal and manifests itself through fever, rash and swollen lymph nodes, although Jasarevic said it may lead to medical complications.
He warned against linking the outbreak to the gay community, after the UK Health Security Agency said that those infected were predominantly "gay, bisexual or men who have sex with men."
Monkeypox is transmitted during close contact with infected skin lesions, droplets or body fluids, including sexual contact, or through contact with contaminated materials.
WHO said symptoms of monkeypox usually resolve on their own within two to three weeks. It said the extent of community transmission in Europe was not known but more cases were likely to be identified in the coming days.
"What is concerning is that some of the cases appear to have been acquired in the region without a link to travel to countries where monkeypox is known to be endemic," the agency said.
The Democratic Republic of the Congo, where the disease is endemic, has reported at least 1,284 suspected monkeypox cases since the start of this year. Fifty-eight patients died.
