The World Health Organization warned on Wednesday that outbreaks of endemic diseases such as monkeypox have become more common, and that monkeypox is likely to be spreading undetected for some time.
More than 550 cases of the disease have been confirmed in more than 30 countries.
“Investigations are ongoing, but the sudden appearance of monkeypox in many countries at the same time suggests that there may be undetected transmission for some time,” the head of the World Health Organization told reporters. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
As climate change contributes to rapidly changing weather conditions such as drought, animals and humans are changing their behavior, including food-seeking habits. As a result of this “ecological fragility,” pathogens that are commonly circulating in animals are increasingly jumping on humans, he said.
“Unfortunately, this ability to amplify this disease and spread it to our communities is increasing, so that both the onset of the disease and the factors amplifying the disease have increased.”
His comment comes as cases of monkeypox continue to rise outside of Africa, where the pathogen is endemic.
But chickenpox, which spreads through close contact, is much less severe, with symptoms that usually include high fever and a chickenpox-like blistering rash that goes away after a few weeks.
Join the WHO R&D Plan Consultation to discuss knowledge gaps and priority research questions for #monkeypox (MPX) research 🗓️ June 2-3, 2022 🕐 1:00 PM CEST Register: https://t.co/Pkem8cBewp
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So far, most cases have been reported among men who have sex with men, although experts point out that there is no evidence that the monkey’s smallpox is sexually transmitted.
“Anyone can get infected with the monkey’s smallpox if they have close physical contact with another infected person,” Tedros said.
He urged everyone to help “fight the stigma, which is not only wrong, but could also prevent infected people from seeking care, making it harder to stop transmission.”
The WHO, he said, also “urged the affected countries to expand their surveillance.” Smallpox vaccines have also been found to be approximately 85% effective in preventing smallpox, but are scarce.
The WHO does not propose mass vaccination, but a specific use in some settings to protect health workers and people most at risk of infection.
[ With inputs from agencies]
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