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GENEVA – A senior World Health Organization official said on Friday that the priority should be to contain monkeypox in non-endemic countries, and that this could be achieved through swift action.
Smallpox, usually a mild viral infection, is endemic in African countries, but its spread to non-endemic countries, such as Europe and the United States, has raised concerns. To date, there are more than 200 confirmed or suspected countries in about 20 cases where the virus was not previously circulating.
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“We think that if we put the right measures in place, we can easily contain it now,” said Sylvie Briand, WHO’s Director of Global Preparedness for Infectious Risks, at a technical briefing on member states at the Agency’s annual meeting. of the United Nations.
He stressed that there was a window of opportunity to prevent further spread, and urged the general public not to worry, as transmission is much slower than other viruses such as coronavirus.
WHO officials said there was no need for mass vaccination at present, but for targeted vaccination when it was available for close contacts of infected people.
“Case research, contact tracking, home isolation will be your best bets,” said Rosamund Lewis, head of the WHO smallpox secretariat, which is part of the United Nations Emergency Program. WHO. (Report by Mrinalika Roy and Emma Farge)