{"id":151918,"date":"2022-05-20T19:09:48","date_gmt":"2022-05-20T23:09:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/?p=151918"},"modified":"2022-05-20T19:09:48","modified_gmt":"2022-05-20T23:09:48","slug":"who-holds-emergency-meeting-to-discuss-monkeypox-outbreak","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/who-holds-emergency-meeting-to-discuss-monkeypox-outbreak\/","title":{"rendered":"WHO holds emergency meeting to discuss monkeypox outbreak"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The World Health Organization was holding an emergency meeting on Friday to discuss the recent outbreak of\u00a0monkeypox<\/a>, a viral infection more common to west and central Africa, after over 100 cases were confirmed or suspected in Europe.<\/p>

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In what Germany described as the largest outbreak in Europe ever, cases have been reported in at least nine countries \u2013 Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom \u2013 as well as the United States, Canada and Australia.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>

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A hospital in Israel was treating a man in his 30s who is displaying symptoms consistent with the disease after recently arriving from Western Europe.<\/p>

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First identified in monkeys, the disease typically spreads through close contact and has rarely spread outside Africa, so this series of cases has triggered concern.<\/p>\n

However, scientists do not expect the outbreak to evolve into a pandemic like COVID-19, given the virus does not spread as easily as SARS-COV-2.<\/p>

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Monkeypox is usually a mild viral illness, characterized by symptoms of fever as well as a distinctive bumpy rash.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is the largest and most widespread outbreak of monkeypox ever seen in Europe,\u201d said Germany\u2019s armed forces\u2019 medical service, which detected its first case in the country on Friday.<\/p>

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The World Health Organisation (WHO) committee meeting to discuss the issue is the Strategic and Technical Advisory Group on Infectious Hazards with Pandemic and Epidemic Potential (STAG-IH), which advises on infection risks that could pose a global health threat.<\/p>

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\u201cThere appears to be a low risk to the general public at this time,\u201d a senior U.S. administration official said.<\/p>\n

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Fabian Leendertz, from the Robert Koch Institute, described the outbreak as an epidemic.<\/p>\n

\u201cHowever, it is very unlikely that this epidemic will last long. The cases can be well isolated via contact tracing and there are also drugs and effective vaccines that can be used if necessary,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Still, the WHO\u2019s European chief said he was concerned that infections could accelerate in the region as people gather for parties and festivals over the summer months.<\/p>\n

There is no specific vaccine for monkeypox, but data shows that the vaccines used to eradicate smallpox are up to 85% effective against monkeypox, according to the WHO.<\/p>\n

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British authorities said they have offered a smallpox vaccine to some healthcare workers and others who may have been exposed to monkeypox.<\/p>\n

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