WHO expert says monkeypox outside Africa can be contained: 'Let's not make a mountain out of a molehill'
An expert with the World Health Organization said that the spread of the monkey pox will likely be contained in countries outside of Africa and warned that the threat was being exaggerated.
Health experts across the world are monitoring cases with flu-like symptoms that may come as a result of the monkey pox infection, which is similar to smallpox but less severe.
Sylvie Briand, the WHO director for Global Infectious Hazard Preparedness, told the World Health Assembly in Geneva, Switzerland, that she had been monitoring the monkey pox for years without viral spread.
“It’s also very important for this, again, limited outbreak to have excellent global coordination and collaboration. We need to share information, share diagnostic resources [and] share data," Briand said.
"We encourage you all to increase the surveillance of monkeypox to see where transmission levels are and understand where it is going," Briand added.
She went on to say that the disease could be contained with pragmatic measures like detecting cases early and isolating the infected.
"Let's not make a mountain out of a molehill," she said.
Although some cases have been detected in the United States, the majority of the cases worldwide were reported in Spain, Portugal, and the United Kingdom.
WHO infectious diseases expert David Heymann said previously that the source of the sudden outbreak of monkey pox might have originated from sexual transmission at two European raves. They noted that many, but not all, of the cases involved men who had sex with other men.
"The extent of local transmission is unclear at this stage, as surveillance has been limited,” said the WHO in a Saturday statement. “There is a high likelihood of identification of further cases with unidentified chains of transmission, including in other population groups.”
The WHO has confirmed only two cases of monkey pox in the United States. A previous outbreak in 2003 led to 47 people being infected and was likely due to imported animals.
Here's more about the monkey pox threat:
Fears of monkeypox outbreak grow as cases rise l GMAwww.youtube.com
Belgium introduces compulsory monkeypox quarantines as its spread continues to baffle global leaders
Belgium has become the first country to introduce a compulsory quarantine for people diagnosed with monkeypox, as the disease continues to spread seemingly randomly across the globe.
Belgian health authorities said that if they are diagnosed with monkeypox, Belgian residents will be required to self-isolate for 21 days, the Daily Mail reported.
Belgium recorded its first infection of monkeypox this past Friday, and it is believed that all subsequent cases are connected to a festival that was held in the port city of Antwerp.
The Belgian quarantine policy comes as European doctors have warned that Great Britain is facing a “significant” rise in monkeypox infections and that the British government’s response is “critical” in containing the spread.
This past weekend, 11 British residents tested positive for the virus, bringing the country’s total up to 20. The infected include a child who is currently in critical condition in a London hospital.
There are currently 100 recorded infections in Europe.
Suggesting that the disease might be spreading through sexual transmission, Dr. Claire Dewsnap, the president of the British Association for Sexual Health and HIV, said that the recent monkeypox outbreak could have a “massive impact” on access to sexual health services in the United Kingdom.
Dr. Susan Hopkins, a chief medical adviser to the U.K. Health Security Agency, also warned that monkeypox is spreading through community transmission.
Dewsnap recently said that “[Britain’s] response is really critical here. There is going to be more diagnoses over the next week.”
She said, “How many is hard to say. What worries me the most is there are infections across Europe, so this has already spread. It’s already circulating in the general population. Getting on top of all those people’s contacts is a massive job.”
Dewsnap suggested that case numbers could greatly increase in the coming weeks. She said, “It could be really significant numbers over the next two or three weeks.”
President Joe Biden is also concerned about the growing case numbers of monkeypox.
This past weekend, just before he left South Korea, Biden said, “Everybody should be concerned about it.”
He said, “We’re working on it, hard to figure out what we do.”
US government tracking more than 200 people in 27 states after they possibly came into contact with monkeypox
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are monitoring more than 200 people across 27 states for possible exposure to monkeypox, the New York Post reported, after they were reportedly in contact with a Texas resident who was said to have contracted the disease in Nigeria.
What is this disease?
The disease is related to smallpox, the outlet notes, adding that no additional cases of the disease have been detected at the time of this reporting.
The illness, a disease that can be transmitted through respiratory droplets and bodily fluids, can cause fevers, swollen glands, chills, and pus-filled blisters.
Monkeypox has an incubation period of three to 17 days.
What are the details?
The federal government is working alongside state and local jurisdictions to monitor the 200 people who reportedly came into contact with the Texan.
The Post reported that the unnamed Texas patient "traveled from Lagos, Nigeria, to Dallas, Texas, with a layover in Atlanta on July 8 and 9, nearly a week before being diagnosed with the rare bug."
Those people under health department surveillance include airline passengers, workers, the patient's family members, and others, and will follow up with those people on a daily basis until July 30.
"It is a lot of people. We're in the timeframe where we certainly want to closely monitor people," said Andrea McCollum, epidemiologist for the National Center for Emerging Zoonotic and Infectious Diseases, according to the outlet. "... We define indirect contact as being within six feet of the patient in the absence of an N-95 or any filtering respirator for greater than or equal to three hours."
Cases outside of West Africa are reportedly rare. The United States has not seen a monkeypox outbreak since 2003, when at least 47 confirmed and probable cases were traced to a shipment of exotic animals.
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