WHO finds more than 1,600 new cases of Monkeypox in 39 countries

The World Health Organization (WHO) has informed that Monkeypox has been confirmed in 1,600 people since the beginning of the year and that another 1,500 cases are suspected in 39 countries, said the director of that organization, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

Also:  Who is most likely to get Monkeypox and who is protected against it?

He specified that among those countries, there are seven in which Monkeypox has been present for years and that 32 countries are affected now.

According to Tedros, 72 deaths were reported from previously affected countries.

He added that there were no reported deaths in the countries where this new disease has recently appeared, although, as he said, the WHO is checking reports from Brazil about deaths related to that disease.

Tedros assessed that the global appearance of Monkeypox is “unusual and worrying”. He stated that the WHO does not recommend mass vaccination against this virus.

He added that smallpox vaccines were expected to provide some protection against Monkeypox.

Earlier WHO warned that “if the infection continues, people at risk and children will get it,” and they are among the groups that may lose their lives due to the virus, according to the British newspaper, “Daily Mail”.

And it warned that its “moderate” rating could become “high”, “if the virus takes the opportunity to establish itself as a human pathogen and spreads to vulnerable groups.”

And it continued, “The sudden emergence and wide geographical range of cases, indicate the transmission of the virus on a large scale between humans,” which is spread through skin-to-skin contact or droplets of infected people.

It also warned that the increase in Monkeypox cases suggested that the virus “may have been spreading unrecognized for several weeks or more”.