GENEVA: The World Health Organization (WHO) has said a 77 percent weekly increase in the number of confirmed cases of monkeypox in laboratories has risen to more than 6,000 worldwide, while two more people have died of the virus in parts of Africa. died. Most cases of monkeypox have occurred in Europe and Africa. The UN health agency said the mysterious disease primarily affects men who have had sex with men, while no signs of infection were seen in other groups of the population.
The WHO said as of Monday it had 6,027 confirmed cases of monkeypox in laboratories in 59 countries, an increase of 2,614 from the last count in the week ended June 27. He said that so far three people have died due to this disease, all of whom were from Africa. He said that there have been cases of infection in nine more countries, while in 10 countries no new cases have been reported for more than three weeks.
‘Over 80 percent of cases in Europe’
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Wednesday that he was concerned about the level of spread of the virus and that more than 80 percent of cases have been in Europe. He said that he would convene the next meeting of the WHO’s expert committee monitoring the outbreak in the week starting July 18.
What is monkeypox?
Monkeypox is a rare viral infection similar to human smallpox. It was first found in 1958 in monkeys kept for research. The first case of infection with monkeypox was reported in 1970. The disease occurs mainly in tropical rainforest regions of Central and West Africa and occasionally spreads to other regions.
Symptoms of illness
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), monkeypox usually presents with fever, rash, and lumps and can lead to a variety of medical complications. Symptoms of the disease usually appear for two to four weeks, which go away on their own. Matters can also be serious. In recent times, the mortality ratio has been around 3-6 percent, but it can be as high as 10 percent. No cause of death has been reported during the current spread of the infection.
