• About
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contact
Wednesday, July 2, 2025
No Result
View All Result
NEWSLETTER
Diplomatic Info
  • Home
  • Diplomacy
  • Embassy News and Info
  • Events
  • Nigeria
  • Business
  • Politics
  • Security
  • Cover Story
  • ECOWAS
    • Togo
    • Sierra Leone
    • Senegal
    • Nigeria
    • Niger
    • Mali
    • Liberia
    • Guinea Bissau
    • Guinea
    • Ghana
    • The Gambia
    • Cote D’Ivoire
    • Cabo Verde
    • Burkina Faso
    • Benin
  • Advertise
    • mail
  • Home
  • Diplomacy
  • Embassy News and Info
  • Events
  • Nigeria
  • Business
  • Politics
  • Security
  • Cover Story
  • ECOWAS
    • Togo
    • Sierra Leone
    • Senegal
    • Nigeria
    • Niger
    • Mali
    • Liberia
    • Guinea Bissau
    • Guinea
    • Ghana
    • The Gambia
    • Cote D’Ivoire
    • Cabo Verde
    • Burkina Faso
    • Benin
  • Advertise
    • mail
No Result
View All Result
Diplomatic Info
No Result
View All Result
Home International

Monkeypox outbreak can still be contained, insists UN health agency

by Diplomatic Info
May 25, 2022
in International
0
Monkeypox outbreak can still be contained, insists UN health agency
0
SHARES
10
VIEWS
Facebook ShareShare on WhatsAppTweet it!

United Nations
25 May 2022, 04:21 GMT+10

The monkeypox outbreak that has been reported in 16 countries and several regions of the world can still be contained and the overall risk of transmission is low, the UN health agency said on Tuesday.

“What we know from this virus and these modes of transmission, this outbreak can still be contained; it is the objective of the World Health Organization (WHO) and Member States to contain this outbreak and to stop it,” said Dr Rosamund Lewis, head of the smallpox team, which is part of the WHO Emergencies Programme. “The risk to the general public therefore appears to be low, because we know that the main modes of transmission have been as described in the past.”

Latest data from WHO’s Member States to 22 May, indicates more than 250 confirmed and suspected cases of monkeypox from 16 countries and several WHO regions.

Symptoms can be very similar to those experienced by smallpox patients, although they are less clinically severe, albeit visually dramatic, with raised pustules and fever in the most severe cases that can last from two to four weeks.

Skin vector

According to the UN health agency, this Monkeypox outbreak has been transmitted primarily by close skin-to-skin contact, although the virus can also be passed by breath droplets and contaminated bedding.

The incubation period of Monkeypox is usually from six to 13 days but can range from five to 21 days. “We don’t yet have the information as to whether this would be transmitted through body fluids,” Dr Lewis noted, before urging potentially at-risk groups to “be mindful” when in close contact with others.

In an effort to warn against stigmatising those who fall sick from the virus, the UN health agency insisted that although most cases of infection have been linked primarily to men who have sex with men, this is probably because they are more proactive in seeking healthcare advice than others.

The disease “can affect anyone and (it) is not associated with any particular group of people,” Dr Lewis told journalists in Geneva.

Fact of life for many

She stressed that what is unusual about this outbreak is that “countries that are reporting Monkeypox now are countries that do not normally have outbreaks of Monkeypox.

There are several countries in which this disease is endemic: Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Nigeria and Cameroon are reporting cases at the moment and there are other countries that have reported cases in the past.”

Vaccination stockpile

Although vaccination against smallpox provided protection against Monkeypox in the past, people younger than 40 to 50 years of age today, may be more susceptible to Monkeypox infection as smallpox vaccination campaigns ended globally after the disease was eradicated in 1980.

Although WHO Member States asked WHO to keep stocks of smallpox vaccine in case of a new outbreak of the disease, Dr Lewis explained that “it’s been 40 years and these stockpiles may need to be refreshed – they certainly need to be revisited – and WHO has been working on that and has been looking at that also now.”

There are two variants of Monkeypox virus: West African and Congo Basin (Central African). The first human case was identified in a child in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in 1970 and although the name Monkeypox originates from the discovery of the virus in monkeys in a Danish laboratory in 1958, it is a bit misleading, Dr Lewis explained.

“Most of animals that are susceptible to Monkeypox are in fact rodents, Gambian giant pouched rats, dormice, prairie dogs; those are the types of animals from which there may be spillover – a zoonotic spillover – from animals into people who may be going into the forest, or who may be coming in contact with the virus from a zoonotic route.”

Diplomatic Info

Diplomatic Info

Next Post
Agreement reached to return Parthenon sculpture to Greece

Agreement reached to return Parthenon sculpture to Greece

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recommended

PDP delegate donates N13 million from national convention cash haul to Kaduna orphans

PDP delegate donates N13 million from national convention cash haul to Kaduna orphans

3 years ago
Kuwaiti Sheikh faces prison in Swiss forgery case

Kuwaiti Sheikh faces prison in Swiss forgery case

4 years ago

Popular News

  • Operation Puff Adder ll : Police deploy 302 operatives in Kaduna

    Operation Puff Adder ll : Police deploy 302 operatives in Kaduna

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Buhari arrives Washington for U.S.-Africa leaders summit

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Kenyans hold candlelit vigil in solidarity with Palestine amid deuterating situation in Gaza Strip

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Communal clash: Osun Govt. imposes 24 hour curfew on 2 LGAs

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Israeli president says situation ‘very serious’ amid judicial overhaul debate

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0

Connect with us on Facebook

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

Enter your email now to join our community of readers, and get new contents straight to your inbox

We promise to not spam you

Thanks for joining in.

Category

  • Africa
  • Benin
  • Burkina Faso
  • Business
  • Cote D'Ivoire
  • Cover Story
  • Diplomacy
  • ECOWAS
  • Education
  • Embassy News and Info
  • Events
  • Ghana
  • Guinea
  • Guinea Bissau
  • International
  • Liberia
  • Mali
  • News
  • Niger
  • Nigeria
  • Politics
  • Programs
  • Security
  • Senegal
  • Sierra Leone
  • The Gambia
  • Togo
  • Uncategorized

Quick Links

  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy
  • Advertise

About Us

Providing strategic insights into important social, cultural, political, and economic factors that significantly influence business and nations, Diplomatic Info will examine these critical issues and provide strategies that create competitive advantages.

© 2023 Diplomatic Info - Built with Love by Creovantage.

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Diplomacy
  • Embassy News and Info
  • Events
  • Business
  • Politics
  • Security
  • News
  • Cover Story
  • Africa
  • ECOWAS
    • Togo
    • Sierra Leone
    • Senegal
    • Nigeria
    • Niger
    • Mali
    • Liberia
    • Guinea Bissau
    • Guinea
    • The Gambia
    • Cote D’Ivoire
    • Ghana
    • Cabo Verde
    • Benin
    • Burkina Faso
  • International
  • Contact

© 2023 Diplomatic Info - Built with Love by Creovantage.