The World Health Organization (WHO) warned on Friday of the risk of international spread of the ‘mpox’ smallpox epidemic from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRCongo), where more than 13,000 suspected cases have already been registered.
“We fear there could be international transmission” from DR Congo, Rosalind Lewis, a doctor and smallpox expert at the WHO, said at a conference in Geneva.
According to Lewis, the number of cases reported to WHO has increased again, from around 100 per month between June and August to “more than 1,000 per month” currently, pointing to outbreaks in Asia, especially Japan, Vietnam and China. , Indonesia and Cambodia, which recorded their first case this week.
Further, the doctor said the organization was aware of a suspected outbreak on a cruise ship sailing in Southeast Asia, but said she had no additional information.
From May 2022, several outbreaks of the IIb variant of the virus were observed in Europe and the United States, in addition to countries in Central and West Africa, where the disease is endemic, leading the WHO to declare the maximum alert level in July . 2022.
According to Lewis, this year has more than double the cases reported in previous years and more than 600 deaths have been recorded in the Democratic Republic of Congo alone.
The current epidemic in DR Congo is particularly worrying for the WHO, which had already warned at the end of November, because the virus is reaching areas that are not normally affected.such as Kinshasa and South Kivu, and it is also the first time that infection occurs through sexual transmission of patients with variant I of the virus.
“The demographic picture in the newly infected areas is therefore worrying, because it is the first time that we see that the virus affects more women than men,” he said. said the expert.
According to the WHO, more than 92,000 cases have been reported in 117 countries since May 2022.
The disease, also known as monkeypox, and first recorded in humans in 1970 in DR Congo, is mainly characterized by a rash on the genitals or mouth and may be accompanied by fever, sore throat and/or pain in the lymph nodes.
Source: DN
