Monkeypox, WHO raises alarm: “Oa spreads in families”
WHO raises alarm over monkeypox: The World Health Organization, which has declared the infectious disease a “global emergency,” stresses how cases in Africa are rapidly multiplying.
The epidemic, which began in 2023, in the Democratic Republic of Congo “is recording an increasing number of cases” and “is also expanding to neighboring countries. Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda”.
The new strain of the virus “based on available epidemiological data, has spread rapidly among adults through close physical contact, including sexual contact identified within networks of prostitutes and their clients”.
What is worrying, however, is that “as the virus spreads further, the affected groups are changing”. The new strain, in fact, “is also spreading within families and in other contexts”.
The expansion of Mpox on the African continent “is unprecedented. At least 4 countries have identified cases for the first time and others, such as Côte d’Ivoire, are reporting re-emerged outbreaks. The modes of transmission are not yet fully described and probably include exclusively human-to-human transmission”.
“In areas or settings with high population density, as well as in high-risk sexual networks, transmission could lead to explosive epidemics, further exacerbated by population movements or insecurity,” adds the World Health Organization. “Conversely, the virus may also spread silently along commercial travel routes, as symptoms may be less severe in some cases, access to health services in transit may be limited, and concerns about stigma may lead affected people to avoid seeking care.”
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