The World Health Organization (WHO) warned that 200 cases of monkey pox found in recent weeks outside the places where the virus usually circulates could be just the beginning.
"We do not know if we are just looking at the tip of the iceberg [or] if there are many other cases that are undetected in the communities," Sylvie Briand, WHO's epidemic and pandemic preparedness and prevention chief, said Friday in a conference.
Since the UK first reported a confirmed case of aphid on May 7, nearly 200 cases have been reported to the WHO in countries far from countries where the virus is endemic. The Spanish Ministry of Health said on Friday that 98 cases had been confirmed there so far, while the UK currently counts 90 verified infections. Portugal has meanwhile registered 74 confirmed cases.
"We are still at the beginning of this event," Briand told representatives attending the World Health Assembly in Geneva. "We know we will have more cases in the coming days," she said, but stressed that there was no need to panic. "This is not a disease that the general public should be concerned about. It is not Covid or other rapidly spreading diseases. "
Monkey pox is not as severe as the disease and has a fatality ratio of 3-6%. Most people recover within three to four weeks. Initial symptoms include high fever, swollen lymph nodes, and chickenpox-like rash.
Briand said experts are trying to determine what prompted this “unusual situation.” She said preliminary investigations did not show that the virus causing the monkey line had changed or mutated.
Sources: Agence France-Press
