Global health raises the alarm: monkeypox reaches Italy and Sweden

Italy and Sweden became the latest two countries to report cases of the rare virus, "monkeypox," on Thursday, while Britain, Spain, Portugal and the United States have already announced their response to the outbreak.

The World Health Organization, which is already busy confronting the Corona virus pandemic that has struck the world over the past three years, called for a strong tracing of contacts of infected cases.

Monkeypox is common in central and western Africa, mostly near tropical rainforests, and is endemic in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where it was first discovered in humans in 1970.

It refers to the possibility of transmission of the disease from one person to another through the air, close physical contact, or the sharing of contaminated clothing or objects.

The rare disease usually presents with fever, muscle aches, swollen lymph nodes, chills, fatigue, and rashes on the hands and face.

The EU agency, which said it is closely monitoring the situation, recommends that suspected cases should be immediately isolated, tested and reported.

Dozens of suspected or confirmed cases of monkeypox have been discovered since the beginning of May in Europe and North America, raising fears that the disease could start spreading.

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