June 8, 2022 – Cases of smallpox in non-endemic countries around the world continue to rise, with 780 confirmed cases from 27 countries as of June 2. No deaths were reported during the current outbreak. In the Eastern Mediterranean region, a total of 14 laboratory-confirmed cases have been reported from two countries: 13 cases in the United Arab Emirates and one case in Morocco.
The WHO Regional Office is working with the health authorities of these two countries to manage the current outbreak and prevent further transmission through intensified surveillance and monitoring of contacts, as well as to ensure that health workers are protected. while treating infectious patients. All patients are now isolated until they recover, usually within a few weeks with supportive treatment.
We are also working with these countries to raise awareness among potentially affected communities, as well as health care providers and laboratory workers, which is essential to identify and prevent new secondary cases and effectively manage the current outbreak.
Right now, these outbreaks can be stopped. But it is very important that countries support health services and stop the transmission of cases.
In countries where no confirmed cases have been reported, WHO is working with health authorities to increase preparedness measures, including public awareness of the disease and its symptoms, by ensuring that health workers can detect and isolate people quickly. suspicious cases and the creation of laboratories. capabilities for rapid diagnosis of suspicious cases.
Although the WHO does not recommend travel restrictions, we urge anyone who feels ill during or after traveling to countries in West and Central Africa where the disease is endemic to report it to a healthcare professional. .
Anyone who has come into close physical contact with a person infected with monkeypox can be infected. The virus spreads mainly through close physical contact, exposing itself to infectious ulcers, lesions or sores on the skin or mouth or throat.
Smallpox is a disease that is new to our region, and we are working closely with WHO headquarters and other WHO regions to learn more about why it now appears in non-endemic countries. of the smallpox of the monkey. The situation is evolving rapidly and epidemiological investigations are still ongoing. So far, the WHO has assessed the overall risk to public health as moderate at both global and regional levels. We continue to monitor the situation closely and keep you updated regularly as new information arrives.