London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Saturday, Jul 26, 2025

Monkeypox outbreak can still be contained, insists UN health agency

Monkeypox outbreak can still be contained, insists UN health agency

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 Program. “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.

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.

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.”

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 the 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.”
Comments

Oh ya 3 year ago
Be scared be very scared at 250 cases out of 7 billion people. Hide in your house, wear a mask and oh ya please take this new vaccine we made just for this scamdemic

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Deputy attorney general's second day of meeting with Ghislaine Maxwell has concluded
Controversial March in Switzerland Features Men Dressed in Nazi Uniforms
Politics is a good business: Barack Obama’s Reported Net Worth Growth, 1990–2025
Thai Civilian Death Toll Rises to 12 in Cambodian Cross-Border Attacks
TSUNAMI: Trump Just Crossed the Rubicon—And There’s No Turning Back
Over 120 Criminal Cases Dismissed in Boston Amid Public Defender Shortage
UN's Top Court Declares Environmental Protection a Legal Obligation Under International Law
"Crazy Thing": OpenAI's Sam Altman Warns Of AI Voice Fraud Crisis In Banking
The Podcaster Who Accidentally Revealed He Earns Over $10 Million a Year
Trump Announces $550 Billion Japanese Investment and New Trade Agreements with Indonesia and the Philippines
US Treasury Secretary Calls for Institutional Review of Federal Reserve Amid AI‑Driven Growth Expectations
UK Government Considers Dropping Demand for Apple Encryption Backdoor
Severe Flooding in South Korea Claims Lives Amid Ongoing Rescue Operations
Japanese Man Discovers Family Connection Through DNA Testing After Decades of Separation
Russia Signals Openness to Ukraine Peace Talks Amid Escalating Drone Warfare
Switzerland Implements Ban on Mammography Screening
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
Pogacar Extends Dominance with Stage Fifteen Triumph at Tour de France
CEO Resigns Amid Controversy Over Relationship with HR Executive
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
NVIDIA Achieves $4 Trillion Valuation Amid AI Demand
US Revokes Visas of Brazilian Corrupted Judges Amid Fake Bolsonaro Investigation
U.S. Congress Approves Rescissions Act Cutting Federal Funding for NPR and PBS
North Korea Restricts Foreign Tourist Access to New Seaside Resort
Brazil's Supreme Court Imposes Radical Restrictions on Former President Bolsonaro
Centrist Criticism of von der Leyen Resurfaces as she Survives EU Confidence Vote
Judge Criticizes DOJ Over Secrecy in Dropping Charges Against Gang Leader
Apple Closes $16.5 Billion Tax Dispute With Ireland
Von der Leyen Faces Setback Over €2 Trillion EU Budget Proposal
UK and Germany Collaborate on Global Military Equipment Sales
Trump Plans Over 10% Tariffs on African and Caribbean Nations
Flying Taxi CEO Reclaims Billionaire Status After Stock Surge
Epstein Files Deepen Republican Party Divide
Zuckerberg Faces $8 Billion Privacy Lawsuit From Meta Shareholders
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
SpaceX Nears $400 Billion Valuation With New Share Sale
Microsoft, US Lab to Use AI for Faster Nuclear Plant Licensing
Trump Walks Back Talk of Firing Fed Chair Jerome Powell
Zelensky Reshuffles Cabinet to Win Support at Home and in Washington
"Can You Hit Moscow?" Trump Asked Zelensky To Make Putin "Feel The Pain"
Irish Tech Worker Detained 100 days by US Authorities for Overstaying Visa
Dimon Warns on Fed Independence as Trump Administration Eyes Powell’s Succession
Church of England Removes 1991 Sexuality Guidelines from Clergy Selection
Superman Franchise Achieves Success with Latest Release
Hungary's Viktor Orban Rejects Agreements on Illegal Migration
Jeff Bezos Considers Purchasing Condé Nast as a Wedding Gift
Ghislaine Maxwell Says She’s Ready to Testify Before Congress on Epstein’s Criminal Empire
Bal des Pompiers: A Celebration of Community and Firefighter Culture in France
FBI Chief Kash Patel Denies Resignation Speculations Amid Epstein List Controversy
Air India Pilot’s Mental Health Records Under Scrutiny
×