GENEVA
Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO) Tedros Ghebreyesus said Wednesday that more than 550 cases of monkeypox have been reported from 30 countries.
WHO chief Tedros Ghebreyesus told a webinar from Geneva that the sudden appearance of monkeypox in many countries at the same time suggests that there may be transmission undetected for some time.
“So far, most cases have been reported among men who have sex with men who show symptoms at sexual health clinics,” Tedros said.
“This community is working hard to inform their members about the risks of monkeypox and prevent transmission.”
Head of the Secretariat for Smallpox Affairs at the WHO Emergency Program Dr. Rosamund Lewis said that currently international organizations do not recommend mass vaccination.
There are several countries where the disease is endemic: Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of Congo, Nigeria, and Cameroon have reported cases, and there are other countries that have reported cases in the past.
Mass vaccination is not required
“There is no need for mass vaccination. Right now, we have what is described as an outbreak in certain communities, who are involved in travel and have physical contact.”
Tedros said society should work hard “to fight stigma,” which he said was wrong and could prevent infected people from seeking care, making it harder to stop transmission.
WHO urges affected countries to expand their surveillance and look for cases in the wider community, the head of the health organization added.
“Anyone can be infected with monkeypox if they have close physical contact with other infected people,” he said.
“It is important to remember that generally, monkeypox symptoms resolve on their own but can be severe in some cases.”
Turning to the Covid-19 issue, Tedros said reported cases and deaths from the virus continued to decline globally, although this trend should be interpreted with caution as many countries have reduced the number of tests they carry out.
“And we did see a trend in some regions. Reported cases and deaths were increasing in the Americas, while deaths were also increasing in the West Pacific region and Africa,” Tedros said.
“Once again, the pandemic is not over. We continue to urge all countries to maintain Covid-19 testing services to give us a clearer picture of where the virus is spreading and how it is changing.”
The WHO chief asked all countries to vaccinate all health workers, the elderly and other risk groups against Covid-19.
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