WHO is looking at the global emergency of monkeypox.Increasing numbers of cases elsewhere in the UK and Europe

According to data shared by the UK Health Department, monkeypox cases increased by almost 40% in the UK within 5 days. As of June 16 574 Cases have been recorded and by June 20th the number was Was rising To 793.

After the UK, Spain, Germany and Portugal have the most recorded cases.And it’s an increasing threat outside Europe: more than 3,200 cases Confirmed According to WHO, which publishes weekly data on monkeypox, it spans 48 countries in the last six weeks. As of June 15, one death had been reported.

The WHO International Health Regulations Emergency Committee met on Thursday to discuss whether the outbreak of monkeypox should be named an “internationally concerned public health emergency.” A new coronavirus that causes covid-19, It was displayed as PHEIC Following a similar meeting in January 2020.

Experts say the monkeypox reaction in the United States reflects the failure of the early coronavirus.

So far, the response in most European countries has focused on outreach to at-risk communities, contact tracing and isolation of known monkeypox cases. WHO first Sounded an alarm The threat level of outbreaks is higher for monkeypox infections in countries where the virus is not endemic in May.

“Emergency Committee, and [WHO] The Secretary’s announcement will raise the political level of this, “said David Hayman, professor of infectious disease epidemiology at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. attended The meeting as an adviser told The Washington Post.

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Monkeypox has spread through close contact and has been largely affected so far Men having sex with men.. It begins with flu-like symptoms before liquid-filled lumps and lesions appear on the skin and can leave permanent scars. According to health officials, recent outbreaks cause frequent genital rashes, most of which are mild and patients recover in 3 weeks, but the virus is fatal and weakens pregnant people and immunity. It is said that the risk is higher for those who are pregnant.

Experts say that a broader understanding of the source of the outbreak, along with vaccination and contact tracing of at-risk groups, is essential to contain the outbreak. Public health measures.

Paul Hunter, a professor of medicine at the University of East Anglia, said: “This is a problem we faced when we were working on HIV / AIDS early on. [1990s].. “

And it is unclear whether cases in some countries remain undetected, as in the early days of the coronavirus outbreak. Some experts speculate that the UK’s extensive public health surveillance network could identify more infections, which could lead to a higher number in the UK.

WHO Secretary-General Tedros Adhanom Gebreyes Admitted At the start of the meeting on Thursday, monkeypox is likely to be more widespread than official figures indicate. “People-to-person communication is underway and is likely to be underestimated,” he told members of the emergency committee.

The United Kingdom actively tracks people with known cases of monkeypox and, in some cases, puts smallpox vaccines known to protect against monkeypox infections to their close contacts and risks. I distributed it to the group that is doing it. In theory, this approach, described by Hunter as “ring vaccination,” “should have worked,” he said.

However, Hunter said he was “lost” as the infection surged and authorities struggled to “track the case’s contact fast enough to affect it.”

“Unless we turn the corner right away about this, I think we probably need to start thinking about the following,” he added.

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British health officials announced on Tuesday that they would provide vaccines to gay and bisexual men who are considered at high risk of exposure to control the outbreak of monkeypox. The UK Health and Security Agency said the virus is more threatening “in the sexual network of gays, bisexuals, and other men who have sex with men,” but anyone gets sick through close contact with infected individuals. He emphasized the possibility.

Scientists are studying this outbreak and can find out more when the virus is sequenced. “We are beginning to understand how popular it is. [monkeypox] That’s really true, “Hayman said. “We know that it has spread to a particular population, and we need to know if it has spread to other populations.”

What is monkeypox, a rare virus currently found in the United States and Europe?

Two years after he treated the first German coronavirus patient, Clements Wentner treated the first German monkeypox patient in May. The unidentified man was a Brazilian sex worker, said Wentner, the doctor in charge of infectious diseases at the Schwabbing Clinic in Munich.

In recent weeks, a few more monkeypox patients have been treated in his ward, Wendner said. Some have reported “very painful” rectal lesions where intravenous analgesics are given to relieve discomfort. Wentner and his colleagues have closely documented their findings during this outbreak, and recently recorded the discovery of monkeypox virus DNA. With both semen and blood.

Most patients were discharged after a day or so and were advised to quarantine at home for 21 days in accordance with the German Infectious Diseases Control Act. The majority of cases have been reported in Berlin, one of the hotspots for European parties scheduled to host a pride event next month.

“The summer season is the party season,” he warned, adding that more cases could occur next week and the current outbreak may not have peaked yet.

Men are at great risk, but Wentner warned that female sex workers could also be at risk. “Risk factors are patterns of unprotected sex,” he explained.

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Outside of Europe, other countries are also working on new cases.

The first case of monkeypox in the United States was detected on May 17. Over 100 cases have been added in the last 5 weeks. To the data From the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. California, New York, and Illinois are listed as the states with the highest levels of infection.

Some experts in the United States Calling Perform a thorough test at the White House to avoid a coronavirus pandemic failure.

Singapore confirmed the first case of monkeypox in a British man in Southeast Asia on Tuesday. South Korea also confirmed the first case of monkeypox on Wednesday. Health officials said the patient was a Korean from Germany. On Thursday, South Africa also announced Reuters, the first case of monkeypox. report.. According to health experts, the 30-year-old woman had no travel history and was not ill outside South Africa.

According to experts, it is important to remember that this is not a new illness. Monkeypox has been endemic in Africa for decades, and some have pointed to a double standard in responding to outbreaks in Europe.

“This is a disease that has been ignored,” Hayman said.rear Smallpox has been eradicated In 1980, the world stopped taking smallpox vaccine as a daily problem. Monkeypox, which is less contagious than smallpox, continued to spread in West and Central Africa, but due to resource depletion, its outbreaks were not thoroughly investigated, he added.

As the monkeypox panic spreads, African doctors are looking at double standards

WHO Tedros said Thursday that there were about 1,500 suspected monkeypox cases and about 70 deaths in Central Africa this year. “The epidemiology and virus branching in these cases may be different, but it’s a non-negligible situation,” he warned.