“If we put the right measures in place now, we can probably contain this quickly,” said Sylvie Briand, director of the WHO’s global infectious risk preparedness department, on Friday.
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The World Health Organization warns of the progression of cases of monkeypox. “We have a window of opportunity to stop the transmission now”warned Sylvie Briand, director of the WHO’s global infectious risk preparedness department, during a presentation to member states on the spread “unusual” of the virus. This presentation took place during the World Health Assembly in Geneva (Switzerland).
“If we put the right measures in place now, we can probably contain this quickly”she assured, while adding that “we don’t know if we are only seeing the tip of the iceberg”.
Some 200 cases of monkey pox have been detected in recent weeks, in countries where the virus does not usually circulate. According to the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), 219 cases precisely – but no deaths – were reported on Wednesday. Experts are trying to determine what caused this “unusual situation”and preliminary results show no variation or mutation of the monkeypox virus, said Sylvie Briand.
Endemic to eleven countries in West and Central Africa, monkeypox has suddenly been detected in more than twenty other countries around the world, including the United States, Australia, the United Arab Emirates and ten European countries.
“We are currently at the very, very beginning of this event”continued Sylvie Briand. “We know we will have more cases in the days to come,” but “It’s not a disease that the general public should be worried about. It’s not Covid or other fast-spreading diseases,” she tempered.