Monkeypox already in 24 countries
20:21
More than 400 cases of monkeypox have so far been reported in 24 countries on five continents, with most in European countries: Britain and Spain. Experts reassure that most of the sick do not require any treatment, but they cannot explain the spread of the virus outside Africa.
Monkeypox is a rare, zoonotic viral disease that usually occurs in western and central Africa. Symptoms include fever, headache and a skin rash that starts on the face and spreads to the rest of the body. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), symptoms usually resolve after two to three weeks. The mortality rate resulting from infection with the virus is about 1 percent.
According to the WHO, the first confirmed case of monkeypox in 2022 outside of Africa was detected in the United Kingdom – on May 6 in a person who had returned from a trip to Nigeria. Eight days later, two more cases were identified in that country; both individuals lived in the same household but did not travel to Africa and had no contact with the person diagnosed on May 6.
Monkeypox is similar to smallpox (blackpox), which was declared eradicated in the 1970s, but is less dangerous and less contagious than it. In people who have been vaccinated against smallpox, that is, those born before 1980, monkeypox should not pose a serious threat.
