The World Health Organization (WHO) is due to hold an emergency meeting to discuss human cases of monkeypox this Friday (20), according to sources close to the United Nations (UN) agency.
The committee that will meet is the Strategic and Technical Advisory Group on Infectious Risks with Pandemic and Epidemic Potential (STAG-IH), which advises the WHO on infection risks that could pose a threat to global health.
More than 100 cases of the viral infection, which spreads by close contact and usually presents with mild symptoms, have recently been reported outside African countries where the disease is endemic.
Characteristics of the disease
Monkeypox (Monkeypox) is a disease transmitted from animals to humans (zoonosis) in the wild. Incidental human infections occur sporadically in forested parts of Central and West Africa.
The disease is caused by the monkeypox virus, which belongs to the orthopoxvirus family, and can be transmitted by contact and exposure to exhaled droplets. The incubation period for monkeypox is usually 6 to 13 days, but can range from 5 to 21 days.
The disease is often self-limiting with symptoms usually resolving spontaneously within 14 to 21 days. Symptoms can be mild or severe, and the lesions can be very itchy or painful.
The animal reservoir remains unknown, although it is likely to be among rodents. Contact with live and dead animals through hunting and consumption of game or bushmeat are known risk factors.
There are two groups of monkeypox virus, those from West Africa and those from the Congo Basin (Central Africa). Although monkeypox virus infection in West Africa sometimes leads to severe illness in some individuals, the illness is usually self-limiting.
The case fatality rate for the West African group has been documented to be around 1%, while for the Congo Basin it can be as high as 10%. Children are also at greater risk, and smallpox during pregnancy can lead to complications such as congenital smallpox or death of the child.
Milder cases of smallpox can go unnoticed and pose a risk of person-to-person transmission. There is likely to be little immunity to infection in those traveling and exposed, as the endemic disease is geographically limited to parts of West and Central Africa.
(Edited by Hugh Lawson; with input from Lucas Rocha of CNN)
Source: CNN Brasil
