Monkeypox confirmed in 23 nations, poses ‘moderate risk’ to global public health, says WHO

Monkeypox virus has been confirmed in 23 non-endemic countries with 257 laboratory-confirmed cases and 120 suspected cases, said the World Health Organization (WHO) in its latest update on Sunday, adding that the outbreak currently poses a moderate risk to global public health. In a statement, the United Nations (UN) health body said that the unprecedented appearance of the monkeypox virus in several nations where it is not normally found indicates undetected transmission for quite some time. According to WHO, the recent events of amplification of the virus came after it spread without being discovered.  

The WHO said, “Since 13 May 2022, monkeypox has been reported to WHO from 23 Member States that are not endemic for monkeypox virus, across four WHO regions. Epidemiological investigations are ongoing."

"The vast majority of reported cases so far have no established travel links to an endemic area and have presented through primary care or sexual health services," it added.

The UN health agency noted that as of May 26, there is a cumulative total of 257 laboratory-confirmed cases and approximately 120 suspected cases have been reported to the body. No deaths have been reported yet. However, WHO noted that the “situation is evolving rapidly” and the health agency is expecting “that there will be more cases identified as surveillance expands in non-endemic countries, as well as in countries known to be endemic who have not recently been reporting cases.”

The 23 countries which have confirmed monkeypox cases include Canada, United States, United Arab Emirates (UAE), Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Israel, Italy, Netherlands, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom, Australia. Out of all the nations, the UK has confirmed most cases with at least 106 infections being reported to WHO since the British health authorities flagged the first case on May 7. 

WHO warns monkeypox outbreak could be just ‘peak of the iceberg'

The latest update on monkeypox viruses by WHO came just days after the body warned that around 200  cases of monkeypox detected recently in countries outside the ones where the virus usually circulates, are just the “peak of the iceberg”. In a briefing to countries on the “unusual” spread of the monkeypox virus, WHO’s epidemic and pandemic preparedness and prevention chief Sylvie Briand said, “We don't know if we are just seeing the peak of the iceberg”. 

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