WHO: Monkeypox cases could only be "tip of the iceberg" - but reason for hope

Created: 05/28/2022Updated: 05/28/2022 09:21

By: Julia Volkenand

The spread of monkeypox is just beginning, the WHO warned on Friday.

Nevertheless, there is reason for hope.

Munich – Monkeypox is on the rise in Europe.

For the first time, they are also spreading outside of West and Central Africa.

Now the World Health Organization (WHO) has warned that the spread could still be in the early stages.

"We don't know if we're just seeing the tip of the iceberg," said Sylvie Briand, director of the WHO's Infection Risk Preparedness Unit, on Friday at the World Health Assembly in Geneva.

Still, Briand expressed hope that the spread of the virus could be stopped soon.

Monkeypox: just beginning to spread?

The current spread of the monkeypox virus is "unusual," Briand said.

Since Britain reported the first case of monkeypox on May 7, 200 cases have been reported to the WHO from countries where the virus does not commonly spread.

The EU health authority ECDC registered 219 such cases.

Monkeypox is endemic in several countries in West and Central Africa, so it occurs there constantly and frequently.

Recently, however, monkeypox was also found in 20 other countries - including Germany, Austria, Switzerland, France and the USA.

Monkeypox: WHO warns of more cases

The spread is "still in its infancy," said Briand on Friday.

"We know that there will be more cases in the coming days," she continued - but added that there was no reason to panic.

The general population must “not be afraid”.

She continued: "It's not Covid-19 or any other disease that spreads quickly."

The monkey pox spread increasingly in Germany.

© IMAGO/Davor Puklavec

Experts are therefore trying to find out what caused the current unusual spread.

However, the first investigations did not provide any evidence of a change or mutation of the virus.

"We have a good chance of stopping the transmission now," Briand continued.

"If we take the right actions now, we can easily contain that."

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Monkeypox is related to smallpox, which killed millions of people every year for centuries until the disease was eradicated in 1980.

However, monkeypox is considerably less dangerous.

Most patients recover within a few weeks, and fatal outcomes are rare.