About 90 percent of the cases of monkeypox virus infection recorded in the last week occurred in the Americas, World Health Organization (WHO) Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus revealed on Wednesday.
Globally, more than 70,000 cases have been reported, including 26 deaths.
A first outbreak of this disease in non-endemic countries was detected in May in Europe, in countries such as Portugal and Spain, but since then the virus has spread to other regions, mainly Latin America and the United States.
The highest risk group is men who have sex with men, but in general anyone can get smallpox, which is spread by contact with wounds or fluids of an infected person, or with contaminated objects.
In recent weeks, the decline in cases worldwide has been continuous, although in the last week 21 countries have reported an increase, mainly in the American continent, which has registered 90% of cases in the last seven days, according to The OMS.
“Again, we warn that a declining outbreak can be the most dangerous outbreak because it makes us think that the crisis is over and lower our guard,” Tedros warned.
The WHO official stressed that this organization is working with countries around the world to increase diagnostic capacity and monitor the evolution of the outbreak.
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said there is concern about the cases that have been reported in Sudan, particularly in a refugee camp near the Ethiopian border.
Monkeypox is considered by the WHO to be an international public health emergency, just like covid-19.
The most common symptoms of Monkeypox infection are fever, severe headache, muscle pain, back pain, tiredness, enlarged lymph nodes with the progressive appearance of rashes that affect the skin and mucous membranes.
A person who is sick ceases to be contagious only after complete healing and scabbing of skin lesions, a period that can eventually exceed four weeks.
Source: TSF
