Monkeypox has been spotted across the globe

Monkeypox has been spotted across the globe in the past week, as of 21 May, 92 laboratory-confirmed cases, and 28 suspected cases have been reported to the World Health Organisation (WHO), with the first recent case confirmed on May 07th. The WHO declared that one monkeypox case is considered an outbreak in non-endemic countries and informed us that more cases are expected in the coming days. The disease has so far had no reported cases of travel linked to epidemic areas.

Monkeypox is a usually mild infectious disease caused by the monkeypox virus. It belongs to the same family as smallpox but is milder than smallpox. The disease can spread from animals to humans and human to human through close skin contact, air droplets, bodily fluids, and virus-contaminated objects. First recognized in 1970, the disease has been endemic in West and Central Africa.

Country	Confirmed	Suspected
Australia	1-5	–
Belgium	1-5	1-5
Canada	1-5	11-20
France	1-5	1-5
Germany	1-5	–
Netherlands	1-5	–
Portugal	21-30	–
Spain	21-30	6-10
Sweden	1-5	–
United Kingdom	21-30	–
United States of America	1-5	–
Total	92	28

Symptoms of monkeypox include fever, intense headache, muscle aches, back pain, low energy, swollen lymph nodes, and a skin rash or lesions. The rash is found more on the face, soles of the feet, and palms of the hands, and it can also be found on the eyes, mouth, and genitals.

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Symptoms last two to four weeks and go away on their own without any treatment.

Monkeypox has been spotted across the globe

Even though mild, some individuals, specifically newborns, children, and individuals with immune deficiencies, might be at risk of more serious health complications and even death. Severe cases are found in individuals who get directly contacted by an infected person while the person has symptoms of the disease.

The surveillance case definitions were developed by WHO for the current outbreak of the disease in non-endemic countries, and WHO urges to inform cases of most at risk with accurate information. Minimal physical contact is advised to prevent the disease. WHO is carrying out epidemiological investigations and will be revealing more information as the investigation progresses. A statement released by the Health Protection Agency (HPA) said that measures are being taken against the spread of the disease and chances are low for monkeypox to be discovered in the Maldives.