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'Monkey smallpox', a rare infectious disease that has been reported mainly in Africa, has recently been confirmed one after another in Europe and the United States.
There is also concern about the spread, but it is currently evaluated that it is unlikely that it will become a big threat like Corona 19.
Reporter Yoo Soo-hwan reports.
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The symptoms of smallpox in monkeys appear in the form of blisters and scabs all over the skin.
In Britain, the number of confirmed cases has risen to nine since the first confirmed case on the 6th, and the authorities have issued a 'warning'.
Then, 8 people were confirmed in Spain and 5 in Portugal, and the first cases were also confirmed in Italy and Sweden, and they are spreading to European countries.
Monkey smallpox is a viral disease that has been reported mainly in Africa.
The first confirmed case in the UK developed symptoms after visiting Nigeria last month and recently returning home.
The Italian infected recently returned from a trip to the Spanish Canary Islands, and the Swedish confirmed case is unclear.
A person from Europe as well as the United States has contracted monkey pox since a visit to Canada.
Monkey smallpox is usually transmitted through the respiratory tract, with a fatality rate of 1 to 10% depending on the strain.
However, experts analyze that the fatality rate is low and the contagiousness is not strong enough to be a concern as much as Corona 19.
[Jimmy Whitworth/Professor, School of International Public Health, London, UK: (Monkeypox) is not highly contagious.
It is unlikely that it will spread to the general public like the coronavirus and develop into an infectious disease epidemic.]
Experts said that monkey pox is transmitted through direct contact, and early symptoms such as fever, headache, muscle pain, lymphadenitis, and fatigue appear.