WHO: Nearly 200 cases of monkeypox have been reported in more than 20 countries

TRIBUNNEWS.COM – The World Health Organization (WHO) says nearly 200 cases of monkeypox have been reported in more than 20 countries, The Associated Press report.

During a briefing on Friday, the UN health agency said there were still many unanswered questions about what triggered it plague monkey pox happening outside of Africa.

“The first sequencing of the virus shows that the strain is no different from the strains we can find in endemic countries and (this outbreak) may be caused more by changes in human behavior,” said doctor Sylvie Briand, WHO director of pandemics and epidemic diseases.

Earlier this week, a top WHO adviser said outbreaks in Europe, the US, Israel, Australia and beyond may be linked to sex at two recent raves in Spain and Belgium.

That marks a significant departure from the pattern of distribution of monkeypox that spreads across central and western Africa, where people are primarily infected by animals such as rodents and wild primates.

Read also: Spain reports 84 cases of monkeypox, the highest in Europe

Read also: Get to know Five Definitions of Monkeypox or Monkeypox Cases From Suspect to Discarded

Even though WHO says almost 200 case monkey pox has been reported, it seems that there are still many unconfirmed cases.

On Friday, Spanish authorities said the number of cases there had risen to 98.

Monkeypox in the country also occurred in a woman, in direct contact with a chain of transmission previously confined to men, according to officials in the Madrid region.

UK officials add 16 more cases to tally monkey pox them, bringing the total cases to 106

Portugal said its total number of cases had jumped to 74.

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