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About 200 confirmed cases and more than 100 suspected cases of Monkeypox have been detected so far outside the countries where it is usually spread, a World Health Organization official said on Thursday, urging countries to step up surveillance. of infectious disease.
Smallpox, a mild viral infection, is endemic to the African countries of Cameroon, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Nigeria.
The recent outbreak in non-endemic countries has raised concerns. The worldwide circulating strain is believed to have a mortality rate of around 1%, although effective vaccines and treatments are available.
Speaking during an online briefing, WHO chief epidemiologist Maria Van Kerkhove said that cases had been detected so far in more than 20 non-endemic countries, adding that the agency hoped the figures pugin.
“We hope that more cases will be detected. We call on countries to increase surveillance … This is a difficult situation. It will be difficult, but it is a good situation in non-endemic countries.”
(Report by Mrinalika Roy in Bangalore; edited by Elaine Hardcastle)