More cases of monkey pox have been confirmed in Europe.
The World Health Organization at its emergency meeting on friday said over a hundred cases have been reported in at least nine countries: Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal,, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom as well as the United States, Canada and Australia.
Spain reported 24 new cases on Friday, mainly in the Madrid region where the regional government closed a Sauna linked to the majority of infections.
First identified in monkeys, the disease typically spreads through close contact and has rarely spread outside Africa, so this series of cases have triggered concern.
However, scientists do not expect the outbreak to evolve into a pandemic like COVID-19, given that the virus does not spread as easily as SARS-COV-2.
Monkey pox is usually a mild viral illness, characterised by symptoms of fever as well as a distinctive bumpy rash.
The World Health Organisation committee meeting to discuss the issue is the Strategic and Technical Advisory Group on Infectious Hazards with Pandemic and Epidemic Potential , which advises on infection risks that could pose a global health threat.
It would not be responsible for deciding whether the outbreak should be declared a public health emergency of international concern, WHO’s highest form of alert, which is currently applied to the COVID-19 pandemic.
(Editor: Nkoli Omhoudu)
