The World Health Organization has warned that 200 cases of smallpox in monkeys found in recent weeks outside countries where the virus is commonly circulating could be just the beginning.
“We do not know if we are just seeing the peak of the iceberg [or] if there are many more cases that are not detected in the communities, “Sylvie Briand, WHO’s head of preparedness and prevention for epidemics and pandemics, acknowledged on Friday in a country briefing.
Since the UK first reported a confirmed case of smallpox confirmed on May 7, nearly 200 cases have been reported to the UN health agency in countries far from states where the virus is endemic. .
The European Center for Disease Prevention and Control has estimated the number of such cases at 219.
Endemic to several West and Central African nations, cases of monkeypox have suddenly been detected in more than 20 other countries around the world, including the United States, Australia, the United Arab Emirates and nearly a dozen EU countries.
The Spanish Ministry of Health said on Friday that 98 cases had been confirmed so far, while the United Kingdom currently has 90 verified infections.
Portugal, meanwhile, has reported 74 confirmed cases, health officials said on Friday, adding that all cases are in men, mostly under the age of 40.
Argentina confirmed the first two cases of smallpox in Latin America on Friday.
“We are still at the beginning of this event,” Briand told representatives of member states attending the World Health Assembly in Geneva. “We know we will have more cases in the next few days,” he said, but stressed that there was no need to panic.
“This is not a disease that should concern the general public. It is not Covid or other diseases that are spreading rapidly.”
Smallpox is related to smallpox, a deadly disease that was eradicated in 1980. But smallpox is much less severe, with a mortality rate of 3-6%. Most people recover in three to four weeks.
Initial symptoms include high fever, swollen lymph nodes, and a rash like chickenpox.
There is not much treatment, but there are some antivirals developed against smallpox, including one recently approved by the European Smallpox Medicines Agency, Briand said.
Smallpox vaccines have also been found to be approximately 85% effective in preventing smallpox.
However, as smallpox has not posed a threat for more than four decades, most people under the age of 45 have not received the vaccine, and supplies of the stings are very limited today.
Briand said experts were trying to determine what had caused this “unusual situation”, saying preliminary research did not appear to indicate that the virus causing the monkey’s smallpox had changed or mutated.
He expressed hope that the spread could be stopped. “We have a good window of opportunity to stop broadcasting now,” he said. “If we put the right measures in place now, we will probably be able to contain it easily.”