A senior WHO executive said the organization has no evidence that the monkeypox virus has mutated, noting that the disease, which is endemic in West and Central Africa, has not changed.
“Al-Jazeera” quoted Rosamund Lewis, director of the Smallpox Department of the Emergency Program at the World Health Organization, during a statement to reporters, as saying that mutations are usually less with this virus, but the genetic sequence of cases will help to better identify and understand the current wave of spread.
For its part, the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control said that the risk of spreading the rare monkeypox in the population at large is “very low” but high in certain groups.
“Most of the current cases were accompanied by mild symptoms, and for the general public, the probability of spread is very low,” Andrea Amon, Director of the European Health Agency, explained, adding that the possibility of spreading the virus through close contact between people with multiple sexual partners was considered “high.”
As of May 21, the World Health Organization had received reports of 92 laboratory-confirmed cases of monkeypox and 28 suspected cases from 12 countries where the disease is not spreading, including several European countries, the United States, Australia and Canada, while the Agency for Infectious Diseases in Denmark announced the first confirmation. infection in the Scandinavian country.
“I am concerned about the increasing number of monkeypox cases in the European Union and the world. We are closely monitoring the situation,” said European Commissioner for Health and Food Safety Stella Kyriakidis, noting that while the probability of the epidemic spreading “amongst the wider population is low”, it is necessary to “conserve the situation”. vigilance” and ensure that contacts are traced and appropriate examinations are carried out.
Symptoms of monkeypox include fever, muscle aches, swollen lymph glands, chills, fatigue, and rashes on the hands and face. There is no cure for the disease yet, but symptoms usually resolve after 2 to 4 weeks.
The disease is widespread in 11 African countries, and according to the European Agency, the virus can cause severe illness among certain groups such as children, pregnant women and people with immunodeficiency, and the agency also indicated the risk of transmission from humans to animals, which it said may carry “The risk of it becoming a common disease in Europe,” according to “Al Jazeera”.
US President Joe Biden considered that monkeypox does not represent the same level of concern as Covid, and that America has enough vaccines to deal with monkeypox.
In Portugal, health authorities recorded 14 new confirmed cases of monkeypox, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 37, while in neighboring Spain, health authorities in the Madrid region recorded 4 more confirmed cases, bringing the total to 34 injuries, in addition to 38 other cases. Suspected of having monkeypox in Madrid.
And the Danish Ministry of Health said that it recorded the first case of monkeypox virus, which is a man who returned from a trip to Spain, and Health Minister Magnus Heonecke said, in a statement, “The health authorities do not expect the infection to spread in Denmark, but we are closely following the situation to prepare for a possible development in infections.” The ministry stated that the man is currently subject to isolation, and the authorities are following up on the condition of his contacts.
And Public Health Scotland said, in a statement, that it had recorded the first confirmed case of monkeypox virus today, Monday, adding that the infected person is receiving treatment while his contacts are being traced.
“We are working with the National Health Service and other partners in Scotland and the UK to investigate the source of this infection. Close contacts are being identified and provided with health information and advice,” said Nick Fein, director of the NHS’s Department of Public Health Sciences.