The World Health Organization (WHO) does not currently fear that the spread of monkeypox will trigger a global pandemic. On Wednesday, it reported 560 confirmed cases in around 30 countries since May 7.
On Monday, the WHO said it was concerned about an “unusual situation”. But she reiterated that there was no reason to panic. The organization assures that it does not fear that the spread of the virus beyond African countries could trigger a global pandemic. “It is still possible to stop this epidemic” before it deteriorates into a pandemic, said Rosamund Lewis, the main expert on this disease within the WHO.
The official does not recommend a “massive vaccination” against the disease. The WHO and member states are ready to vaccinate with their reserves, she said. But the supply is limited. For the moment, vaccination must therefore remain “targeted” on contacts of infected people and on health personnel.
Better inform, do not stigmatize
Wednesday in front of the press, the director general of the WHO Tedros Adhonom Ghebreyesus was also reassuring. “There may have been some spread that went undetected for some time,” he explained. He further called for not “stigmatising” those infected, when most cases have been seen in the homosexual community.
“Anyone can be infected if they have been in close contact with a person who has been infected,” he said. In the current state of knowledge, secondary transmission – i.e. human-to-human – requires close and prolonged contact between two people, and occurs mainly via saliva or pus from skin lesions formed during infection.
The WHO now wants to inform the groups most at risk, prevent the spread, improve understanding of the pathology and protect health workers.
>> Read also: Monkeypox transmission can be stopped in non-endemic countries, says WHO
The investigations are continuing. On Tuesday, WHO Europe had warned that it expected more cases to come, and that the spread may not be able to be fully controlled. She warned of a possible outbreak this summer.
Usually mild disease
Monkeypox (or “simian orthopoxvirus”) is an infectious disease transmitted to humans by animals, identified in humans since 1970. It is linked to smallpox, which has killed millions of people in the world. world each year before being eradicated. But his simian version is much less severe, and most people recover spontaneously in three to four weeks.
Incubation can usually range from 5 to 21 days and symptoms resemble, but less severe, those of smallpox during the first five days. We are talking here about a high fever, swollen lymph nodes and a rash similar to chickenpox. In most infections, the situation resolves on its own. But it can become serious in some cases.
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