WHO Escalates Monkeypox Global Health Risk Level to ‘Moderate’

The World Health Organization (WHO) said the ongoing monkeypox outbreak poses a moderate danger to global public health.

According to the international health organization, the monkeypox scenario is fast shifting, and as monitoring in non-endemic countries grows, more cases are expected to be detected.

(Photo : CDC/Getty Images)
In this 1971 Center For Disease Control handout photo, monkeypox-like lesions are shown on the arm and leg of a female child in Bondua, Liberia.

WHO Considers Monkeypox As Moderate Risk

Since this is the first time connected cases and clusters have been documented, the World Health Organization published a study assessing the monkeypox illness and its danger to general world public health as "moderate" Sunday, May 29.

The categorization indicates that the disease's infection rate is on the rise, particularly when it comes to human-to-human transfers.

The WHO stressed that, while such an evaluation has been made, it does not expect that monkeypox outside of Africa would result in a pandemic.

Regardless, it is strongly recommended that intensive surveillance, contact tracing, laboratory investigation, case isolation, and clinical care be performed.

Monkeypox is caused by a virus family known as orthopoxvirus, which was also responsible for the now-eradicated smallpox virus thanks to the development of medications and vaccinations against it decades ago, according to the WHO.

Monkeypox is a zoonotic viral disease initially discovered in 1958 in study colonies of monkeys. In 1970, the first example of disease transfer from an animal to a human was documented.

Monkeypox Risk in the U.S. Remains Low

However, the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in the United States both emphasize that the danger to the general population remains "low."

ALSO READ: Pets Are Susceptible to Monkeypox Too and May Cause Massive Transmission; Patients Advised to Avoid Contact for Three Weeks

CDC advises anyone who gets an unexplained rash to seek medical attention and avoid contact with others. The World Health Organization also emphasized the need to take action.

The following are the symptoms of monkeypox, which can appear days after infection and continue for two to four weeks, according to the WHO:

Back pain
Fever
Low energy consumption
Lymph nodes swollen
Muscle pain
Rashes or skin lesions
Severe headache

According to the WHO and other health authorities, the infection incidence of monkeypox is relatively low compared to SARS-CoV-2, which produces the new coronavirus illness (COVID-19).

Because monkeypox can only be spread by close physical contact with an infected individual, including direct touching and sexual contact, this is the case.

Furthermore, physiological fluids such as saliva, blood, or pus can be used to disseminate the monkeypox virus.

Bedding, clothing, towels, and utensils, in particular, can act as an indirect conduit for the disease to spread.

Monkeypox Cases

Based on the WHO statistics received as of Sunday, monkeypox has 257 confirmed cases and 120 suspected cases in 23 countries where the virus is not endemic, CNN reported.

As of Friday, May 27, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in the United States had confirmed 12 cases of monkeypox.

The disease has continued to afflict five nations in central and western Africa, where the illness is frequent and endemic. There were 1,365 cases and 69 fatalities reported between mid-December 2021 and late May 2022.