A senior official from the World Health Organization (WHO) said in a statement today that there is no evidence that the monkeypox virus has mutated. The official underlined that the monkeypox virus, which is native to West and Central Africa, is not prone to change.
Rosamund Lewis, Head of Smallpox, which is part of the WHO Emergency Programme, said mutations are generally rare in the monkeypox virus, but with gene mapping of cases, they can access more data on the latest outbreak.
Maria van Kerkhove, COVID-19 head of WHO’s emerging diseases and animal-to-human diseases unit, said that more than 100 cases of monkeypox recorded in Europe and North America were not severe. “This is a manageable situation,” said Van Kerkhova.
The WHO notes that the recent outbreak was unusual as cases of monkey virus infection were also seen outside of countries where the virus normally circulates. Experts are trying to understand the source of the cases and whether the virus has changed.
Third possible case of monkeypox in America
American health officials reported that the third monkey virus case may have emerged in the country, and tests were carried out on a patient in the south of Florida to confirm the case.
The American Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Florida Health Department noted that the suspected case in the state was “linked to international travel” and that “the person remains in isolation.”
The results of the tests conducted by the CDC are expected to be announced soon. It was also reported that there were no other suspected cases in the state of Florida.
The first monkey virus infection in America was reported last Wednesday in the state of Massachusetts. Monkeypox, which is similar to human smallpox but has a milder course, was first seen in a man traveling to Canada in the United States. Authorities reported that this case does not pose a risk to public health.
The second case in the United States was recorded in New York on Friday last week.
The number of viral infections transmitted by close human contact in Europe is over 100.
On the other hand, President Joe Biden, in his statement today, tried to alleviate the concerns about the monkeypox virus. Biden said he sees no need to resort to strict quarantine measures.
Speaking in Tokyo, the capital of Japan, a day after he said the virus was “worrying”, President Biden said he thought the monkeypox “was not at the level of concern created by COVID-19.”
Saying that the smallpox vaccine works for monkeypox as well, Biden said, when asked whether the United States has enough smallpox vaccine in case of the possibility of monkeypox spreading, he said, “I think we have enough vaccines to deal with it in case there is a problem.”