The World Health Organization warned on Wednesday that outbreaks of endemic diseases such as monkeypox have become more frequent and that monkeypox is likely to spread unnoticed 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 smallpox in many countries at the same time suggests that there may have been an undiscovered transmission for some time,” World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Gebreesus told reporters.
As climate change contributes to rapidly changing weather conditions such as drought, animals and humans are changing their behavior, including their search habits. As a result of this “environmental fragility”, pathogens that normally circulate in animals are increasingly jumping in humans, he said.
“Unfortunately, this ability to exacerbate the disease and move it within our communities is increasing – so both the incidence of the disease and the factors that exacerbate the disease have increased.”
His comment comes as the incidence of smallpox continues to rise outside Africa, where the pathogen is endemic.
But monkeypox, which spreads on close contact, is much less severe, with symptoms usually including fever and chickenpox-like rash that clears up after a few weeks.
Join the WHO R&D Blueprint Consultation to discuss the knowledge gaps and research priority issues for #monkeypox (MPX) research 🗓️ 2-3 June 2022 🕐 13:00 CEST Register: https: // t. co / Pkem8cBewp
– World Health Organization (WHO) (@WHO) June 2, 2022 ×
So far, most cases have been reported among men who have sex with men, although experts say there is no evidence that smallpox is sexually transmitted.
“Anyone can get monkeypox if they have close physical contact with someone else who is infected,” Tedros said.
He called on everyone to help “fight the stigma, which is not only wrong, but can also prevent infected people from seeking care, making it difficult to stop the transmission.”
The WHO, he said, also “called on the countries concerned to expand their monitoring”. Vaccines designed for smallpox have been found to be about 85% effective in preventing monkeypox, but they are in short supply.
The WHO does not offer mass vaccination, but rather targeted use in certain conditions to protect health workers and people at greatest risk of infection.
[ With inputs from agencies]
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