Monkeypox: The virus is likely to settle in non-endemic countries – Horizons

The risk is “real” that the monkeypox virus will spread to non-endemic countries, with 1,000 cases already reported, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Wednesday.

“The risk of monkeypox taking hold in non-endemic countries is real, but this scenario can be avoided,” said the organization’s director general, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

He therefore encouraged countries to increase their health surveillance measures to “identify all cases and contact cases to control this outbreak and prevent contagion”.

“More than 1,000 confirmed cases of monkeypox have now been reported to WHO in 29 countries where the disease is not endemic,” the director-general said.

According to the WHO, no deaths have been reported in these countries, unlike endemic countries, which include Nigeria and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). “WHO is particularly concerned about the risks this virus poses to vulnerable groups, including children and pregnant women,” Dr. Tedros explained.

He also stressed that communities living in countries where monkeypox is endemic “deserve to receive the same attention, the same care and the same access to the tools to protect themselves” from the disease, which is spread by contact. close.

The WHO has repeatedly pointed out that the “sudden and unexpected appearance” of virus in non-endemic countries suggests that it has been circulating for some time already, but that its transmission has gone undetected. However, the organization does not know for how long.

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