Nagpur: Over 550 cases of the monkeypox virus have been reported from 30 countries as per The World Health Organisation (WHO) on Wednesday.
While addressing a press conference, WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that the investigations are going on regarding the virus but a sudden appearance of monkeypox in many countries at the same time suggests there have been many cases that have not been reported.
He further added that most of the cases of the virus have been reported from men who have sex with men presenting symptoms at sexual health clinics. “These communities are working hard to inform their members about the risks of monkeypox and prevent transmission,” he said.
The WHO chief emphasized that anyone can be infected with monkeypox if they have close physical contact with someone else who is infected. The UN health agency also said that the situation is evolving and more cases are expected to emerge in the coming days.
WHO monkeypox’s technical head Dr. Rosamund Lewis said that the agency doesn’t know whether it’s too late to contain the virus. “What WHO and all member states are trying to do is prevent the onward spread,” he added while addressing the press conference.
History
Monkeypox was first identified in the 1950s when two outbreaks occurred in the colonies of the monkeys used for research purposes. The first human case was reported 20 years later, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in 1970.
The disease is a relative of smallpox which causes a rash that mainly begins on the face and spreads to the rest of the body.
The disease can be caught from a bite by an infected animal or even touching its blood, body fluids, and fur. Often spread through rodents such as rats, mice, and squirrels. One can also be infected by eating meat from an infected animal that hasn’t been cooked properly.
Symptoms:
If one gets infected with monkeypox, the symptoms usually develop five to 21 days before the first symptoms to appear. These include a fever, a headache, muscle aches, backache, swollen glands, shivering, and exhaustion.
Cure:
Currently, there is no specific treatment for the infection. The disease’s mortality rate is one in 10 infected people according to the World Health Organisation (WHO).
