Unlikely monkeypox outbreak will lead to pandemic, says WHO

Monday May 30, The World Health Organization does not believe the monkeypox outbreak outside of Africa will lead to a pandemic

A WHO official said that “it remains unclear whether infected people who are not displaying symptoms can transmit the disease,” according to US News. 

In May, there has been more than 300 suspected and confirmed cases of monkeypox with most cases in Europe. No deaths have been reported so far.

If you get infected with monkeypox, it usually takes between 5 and 21 days for the first symptoms to appear.

The first symptoms of monkeypox include: a high temperature, headache, muscle aches, backache, swollen glands, shivering (chills) and exhaustion.

A rash usually appears 1 to 5 days after the first symptoms. The rash often begins on the face, then spreads to other parts of the body. This can include the genitals.

The rash is sometimes confused with chickenpox. It starts as raised spots, which turn into small blisters filled with fluid. These blisters eventually form scabs which later fall off.

The symptoms usually clear up in a few weeks.

Monkeypox can be caught from infected rodents (such as rats, mice and squirrels) in parts of west and central Africa.

You can catch monkeypox from an infected animal if you’re bitten or you touch its blood, body fluids, spots, blisters or scabs.

It may also be possible to catch monkeypox by eating meat from an infected animal from central or west Africa that has not been cooked thoroughly, or by touching other products from infected animals (such as animal skin or fur).

Monkeypox can also spread from person to person through: touching clothing, bedding or towels used by someone with the monkeypox rash, touching monkeypox skin blisters or scabs (including during sex) and the coughs or sneezes of a person with the monkeypox rash.

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