GENEVA: The World Health Organization (WHO) confirmed 780cases of monkeypox in 27 countries around the world on Sunday, incases registered since in countries where the disease is not usuallypresent.
The latest figures do not contain infections in the African countrieswhere the virus is considered endemic.
“Currently, the public health risk at the global level is assessed asmoderate considering this is the first time that many monkeypoxcase,” the WHO said.
However, officials warned that the public health risk “could becomehigh if this virus exploits the opportunity to establish itself innon-endemic countries as a widespread human pathogen.”
Monkeypox is considered a less severe disease compared to smallpox,which was eradicated in 1980. The pathogen is transmitted from personto person through close physical contact.
The symptoms usually disappear within a few weeks, but canoccasionally lead to complications and death in very rare cases.
No one has died among the 780 cases reported. However, so far thisyear, 66 people have died in five African countries in connectionwith monkeypox.
Updates from the USSan Francisco has reported its first suspected case of monkeypox, public health officials said Friday.**
The person is a San Francisco resident who traveled to a location with known cases, health officials said. The person is in good condition, is isolating and has reported no close contacts in San Francisco during the time the person was infectious.
The latest case means there are five confirmed or suspected monkeypoxcases in California.
Los Angeles County reported its first suspected monkeypox case Thursday. Sacramento County has reported one confirmed case and twosuspected cases, both of which are close contacts of the first case.
Health officials say the risk to the general public is low, in partbecause monkeypox is nowhere near as contagious as Covid-19. L.A.County public health director Barbara Ferrer said Thursday that thereis no sign people should worry about a massive outbreak of monkeypoxlocally, but officials are preparing for more cases.
Monkeypox is far more likely to spread through close, sustained,skin-to-skin contact with someone who has an active rash andmonkeypox skin sores. The virus can be spread during sexual andintimate contact and through shared bedding and clothing. It’s alsopossible it can be spread through kissing and breathing at very closerange.
In many recent cases, during the early stages of illness, the rashhas been mostly in the genital area. The rash can also spread widelyacross the body.
“We want to emphasize that this is not a disease that spreads easilythrough the air like COVID-19. However, we do want people who mighthave been exposed to watch out for symptoms and to see a medicalprovider immediately if they develop symptoms for an evaluation,” SanFrancisco health officer Dr. Susan Philip said in a statement.
“While most cases resolve on their own, monkeypox can be serious inrare cases and we want to prevent further spread in the community,”Philip said.
Some recent patients with monkeypox have described intense pain.
“It can be really painful and some patients have reported needingprescription pain medicine to manage that pain. The sores can alsocause long-term scarring on the skin,” Capt. Jennifer McQuiston,deputy director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control andPrevention’s Division of High Consequence Pathogens and Pathology,said at a news briefing Friday.
Most of the recent cases of monkeypox in the U.S. known to the CDChave occurred among men who have sex with men; one recent caseoccurred in a woman who had traveled to west Africa. Officialsemphasized that anyone can become infected and spread monkeypox,including healthcare workers and family members caring for those whoare ill.
Traditionally, monkeypox is believed to begin with a fever andfeeling of being unwell, followed by a rash. But in some cases, therash has appeared first. Other symptoms can include headache, muscleaches, backache, chills, exhaustion and swollen lymph nodes. Rarecomplications include lesions that appear in the eye, which canendanger vision.
The monkeypox rash results in well-rounded skin lesions, and as theyprogress, they turn into papules, which are higher raised areas ofthe skin that can appear like a pencil eraser, McQuiston said. Theycan then fill with a clear fluid, which turns into pus.
The rash can appear similar to syphilis and herpes, which are farmore common than monkeypox. McQuiston said it can be confusing toinitially distinguish monkeypox from other illnesses, and that’s whyhealthcare providers should be on the alert for potential cases andrequest a test if they think it could be monkeypox. In some recentcases in Europe, people have been infected with both monkeypox and asexually transmitted infection.
“They should test for monkeypox, even if they think they might have apositive test for another, more common” sexually transmittedinfection, McQuiston said.
The recent global monkeypox outbreak has resulted in more than 700reported cases, McQuiston said. In the U.S., at least 25 cases havebeen identified in 11 states as of Friday afternoon.
The strain of monkeypox identified in the outbreak is known as theWest African strain, which is less severe than other known strains,McQuiston said. In historical outbreaks in Africa, the West Africanstrain has resulted in fewer deaths.
No deaths have been reported in the current monkeypox outbreakworldwide, McQuiston said. Patients whose cases have been reviewed bythe CDC as of Friday are either recovering or have already recovered,“and those who still have a rash are being advised to stay home andstay away from other people until they’re fully recovered.”
Full recovery happens “when all of the sores have scabbed over, thescabs fall off, and new healthy skin has emerged,” McQuiston said. Aperson is no longer contagious once all the scabs have fallen off.
The CDC released new information Friday on the first two cases ofmonkeypox in this outbreak.
On May 4, two men in the U.S. had symptoms consistent with monkeypox and had recently returned from traveling outside the country, McQuiston said.
In Massachusetts, a man developed a rash with fluid-filled skin lesions and sought outpatient medical care four times. On May 12, he was hospitalized for management of pain from that rash, McQuistonsaid.
On May 4 in New York City, a man sought treatment for a lesion in themouth and a painful rash that also developed into blister-like sores,McQuiston said.
By mid-May, news coverage broadened of monkeypox cases in Britain.On May 7, British health officials announced a case of monkeypox in aman who returned to Britain from Nigeria, where there has been aresurgence of monkeypox for the last five years. Then, British healthauthorities reported more cases on May 14 and May 16 that were notlinked from that traveler.
Based on that news coverage from Britain, healthcare providers forthe Massachusetts patient on May 17 contacted state and CDC officialsrequesting testing be done of the patient’s viral samples. AMassachusetts lab confirmed the presence of an orthopoxvirus - agroup of viruses that includes monkeypox - and confirmatory testingthe next day by CDC verified the sample was monkeypox.
Recent monkeypox cases in the U.S. known to CDC officials have beenamong adults, McQuiston said, and most reported international travelin the 21 days before their symptoms began. It generally takes sevento 14 days for a person to develop symptoms after being exposed tomonkeypox, but it can take up to 21 days.
McQuiston said authorities are working hard to contain the outbreak.
“Our containment strategy is focused on identifying cases, identifying their contacts and making sure they get vaccine offered to them and that cases are being isolated to prevent onward spread,” McQuiston said.
The recent outbreak is concerning because monkeypox cases are notusually found in the U.S., officials have said.
Monkeypox was discovered in 1958 in colonies of monkeys kept forscientific research. The monkeypox virus is typically found in rodents and primates in central and western Africa, according to the CDC. The first human case was documented in the Democratic Republic of Congo in 1970.
The only previous U.S. outbreak of monkeypox occurred in 2003, leading to 71 confirmed or suspected cases - mostly in Wisconsin, Indiana and Illinois. Those who were infected had come in contact with pet prairie dogs obtained from an animal distributor in suburban Chicago that had been housed near Gambian giant rats and dormice that came from Ghana.
Though monkeypox can be fatal in countries where healthcare resourcesare poor, the 2003 U.S. outbreak did not lead to any deaths.
