WHO explores findings of monkey smallpox virus in human sperm fluid

JawaPos.com – The World Health Organization (WHO) is investigating reports of findings of monkeypox virus in patients’ semen, WHO officials said Wednesday (15/6).

The study was intended to see whether monkeypox could be sexually transmitted. The UN agency still believes that the virus is mainly transmitted through close human contact.

But in recent days, scientists have detected viral DNA in the semen of a number of monkeypox patients in Italy and Germany.

“We really need to focus on the modes of transmission that are most common and we clearly see that it is skin-to-skin,” Catherine Smallwood, monkeypox incident manager at WHO Europe, told a news conference.

More than 1,300 cases of monkeypox have been reported by about 30 countries, mainly in Europe, since early May. Most of the cases reported are in men who have sex with men. (Reuters/Antara)

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Editor : Dinarsa Kurniawan

Reporter : Antara

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