The World Health Organization has received reports of 257 cases of confirmed smallpox and about 120 suspected cases in 23 countries where the virus is not endemic until Thursday, it said in an update on Sunday.
In the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has reported 12 cases in eight states as of Friday afternoon.
In five African countries where monkeypox is commonly found, the WHO said it has received reports of 1,365 cases and 69 deaths from the virus. These diseases were reported in different periods from mid-December to late May.
No deaths have been reported in non-endemic countries.
“Since 2017, the few deaths of people with monkeypox in West Africa have been associated with a young age or untreated HIV infection,” the WHO said in a report on Sunday.
The agency said the level of risk to global public health is moderate, “given that this is the first time that simultaneous smallpox cases and groups have been reported in very different and non-WHO geographical areas. known epidemiological links with non-endemic countries in West or Central Africa. “
The WHO also said in its update: “The risk to public health could become high if this virus seizes the opportunity to establish itself as a human pathogen and spreads to groups at higher risk of suffering from serious illnesses, such as young children and immunocompromised people. “
The agency urges health care providers to monitor closely for possible symptoms such as rash, fever, swollen lymph nodes, headache, back pain, muscle aches and fatigue, and to offer tests to anyone with these. symptoms.
However, since most of the initial cases of this outbreak have been reported among men who have sex with men, “every effort should be made” to avoid stigmatizing affected individuals and communities, he said. ‘WHO.
Smallpox is an extremely rare viral disease that is similar to smallpox, but is considered clinically less serious, according to the WHO. The disease eventually progresses to a rash and lesions that form blisters and crusts. This can happen to the whole body. The disease usually lasts between two and four weeks.
Smallpox is not a sexually transmitted disease, but it can be spread through intimate contact during sexual intercourse when someone has an active rash.
Scientists are sequencing the genetic code of viral samples from patients in this outbreak to learn more about their origins, but “preliminary data confirm that genomes belong to the West African monkeypox virus clade,” according to the study. ‘WHO.