The World Health Organisation has determined that the virus causing the monkeypox outbreak is no foreign virus, therefore, can be contained.
Rosamund Lewis, the Head of Smallpox Secretariat at WHO, shared the information in a video shared by DW on its Twitter account on Thursday.
Addressing the press, Rosamund Lewis noted that monkeypox is an emerging disease which has been surfacing for the last two or three decades.
She noted that the outbreak of the virus can be contained by enhancing contact tracing and isolating affected persons.
“The WHO is putting up guidance also on vaccines and immunization considerations, but the important thing right now is to realize that this outbreak can be contained due to/ with contact tracing and isolation.
“This is an emerging disease, it has been emerging for the last 20/30 years, it’s not unknown, it’s very well described.”
Currently, the WHO is putting up guidance also on vaccines and immunization considerations. The WHO earlier reported that vaccination against human smallpox is also effective against monkeypox.Â
Both species are related but human smallpox is a lot more dangerous, DW reports.
Although the WHO says the outbreak can be contained, its findings have shown a concern. The virus has begun to spread among population groups, Rosamund Lewis noted.
The current monkeypox outbreak can be contained, said the WHO, stressing that the virus is “not unknown” to health authorities. pic.twitter.com/L2MADI4ZGj
— DW News (@dwnews) May 26, 2022
“But we have a new situation of this emerging disease which has now appeared, and has begun to spread among population groups which normally would not have this, and so this is why we are treating this as a concerning situation although individuals remain at very low risk.
“So what we are seeing is a number of cases that are higher in certain countries where they have been gatherings recently and we are advising folks to be very mindful and very careful in the gatherings that are coming in the days ahead.â€
The UN Health agency has revealed that monkeypox is caused by a larger group of viruses known as the Orthopoxviruses Smallpox.
The virus is said to cause rash and fever. Over 100 cases of the virus have been confirmed in Europe, America and Australia.
Germany has ordered up to 40,000 doses of the Imvanex vaccine to be ready in case the outbreak worsens.
But BBC reports that the virus is most common in remote parts of Central and West Africa.
The United Arab Emirates (UAE), Czech Republic and Slovenia reported their first cases on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, the Ghana Health Service (GHS) has rejected claims that the Western Region has recorded its first case of monkeypox.
This comes after an individual in the Ahanta West Municipality reported to a health facility with blisters.
The Western Regional Director of Health Services, Dr Yaw Ofori Yeboah, has noted that the said individual is not suffering from monkeypox.
Source: The Independent Ghana