Cases of monkeypox: It can be controlled relatively easily through self-isolation and hygiene.
London:
The World Health Organization says it expects to identify more cases of monkeypox as it expands surveillance to countries where the disease is not usually detected.
As of Saturday, 92 confirmed cases and 28 suspected cases of monkeypox from 12 non-endemic countries have been reported, the UN agency said, adding that it will provide additional guidance and recommendations in the coming days for countries on how to mitigate the effects. . the spread of monkeypox.
“Available information suggests that human-to-human transmission occurs in close physical contact with cases that are symptomatic,” the agency added.
Monkeypox is an infectious disease that is usually mild and endemic in parts of West and Central Africa. It is spread by close contact, so it can be relatively easily controlled by measures such as self-isolation and hygiene.
“What seems to be happening now is that it has entered the population as a sexual form, as a genital form and is spreading, as well as sexually transmitted infections, which has increased its transmission worldwide,” said WHO official David Hayman. infectious diseases, he told Reuters.
Hayman said an international commission of experts met by videoconference to consider what needs to be studied about the outbreak and communicated to the public, including whether there is any asymptomatic spread that is most at risk and the different pathways. transmission.
He said the meeting was convened “due to the urgency of the situation”. The Committee is not the group to propose declaring a public health emergency of international importance, the WHO’s highest concern for the COVID-19 pandemic.
He said that close contact is the main route of transmission, as the lesions typical of the disease are very infectious. For example, parents caring for sick children are at risk, as are health professionals, which has led some countries to vaccinate teams treating monkeypox patients using smallpox-related vaccines.
Many of the current cases have been identified in sexual health clinics.
Early genomic sequencing of a handful of cases in Europe suggests similarities with limited distribution in the UK, Israel and Singapore in 2018.
Hayman said it was “biologically plausible” for the virus to circulate outside the countries where it is endemic, but did not cause major outbreaks as a result of COVID-19 blockade, social distancing and travel restrictions.
He stressed that the monkeypox epidemic did not look like the first days of the COVID-19 pandemic because it was not so easily transmitted. Those who suspect they may have been exposed or who show symptoms, including uneven rash and fever, should avoid close contact with others, he said.
“Vaccines are available, but the most important message is that you can protect yourself,” he added.
(Except for the title, this story was not edited by NDTV staff and was published by a syndicated channel.)
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