The official representative of the World Health Organization (WHO), Tarik Yazarevich, said that, as of May 20, 37 cases of monkeypox infection were registered in the world. 

“There are currently 37 confirmed cases and 71 cases are under investigation.

WHO urges countries to follow the definition of cases and look for new ones, ”RIA Novosti quotes him.

Outbreaks of monkeypox, a rare infectious disease, have been observed over the past two decades, in particular in the United States and Nigeria, with isolated cases of infection recorded in the UK (in 2018) and Singapore (in 2019). 

The first case of monkeypox in 2022 was reported by the UK National Health Service on May 7.

The disease was detected in a patient who arrived from Nigeria.

Later, several more cases of infection were detected in the kingdom.

Reported cases of this type of smallpox have been reported in Portugal, Spain, Italy, France, Belgium, USA, Canada, Australia, Sweden and Germany.

On May 20, British Health Minister Sajid Javid said that the heads of the G7 countries' ministries of health discussed the situation with the spread of monkeypox. 

“I told the G7 health ministers this morning what we know so far.

Most cases are mild.

I can confirm that we have provided ourselves with additional doses of vaccines that are effective against monkeypox,” he wrote on Twitter. 

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At the same time, the press service of Rospotrebnadzor noted that the risk of importing monkeypox to Russia was and remains extremely low.

The department added that they are taking all measures to prevent the importation of the disease into the country.

In addition, Rospotrebnadzor said that in order to quickly identify possible cases of monkeypox, the Vector State Scientific Center for Virology and Biotechnology quickly created an autonomous test system and successfully conducted its laboratory tests.

“The simplicity of the analysis and the possibility of visual recording of the results make it possible to use the test in non-laboratory conditions, that is, in the “bedside” format.

The test is effective, specific and does not detect cross-reactions with measles, rubella and chickenpox viruses, ”the agency explained.

They clarified that the monkeypox virus is mainly transmitted to humans from wild animals such as rodents and primates.

Its secondary distribution by human-to-human transmission is limited.

The disease is characterized by symptoms such as fever, severe headache, swollen lymph nodes, back pain, muscle pain and severe weakness, as well as rashes on the body.

Monkeypox is usually a self-limiting disease, with symptoms lasting 14 to 21 days.

In turn, the SSC "Vector" also assessed the risk of importing monkeypox into the country as extremely low.

They clarified that for this reason, vaccination against smallpox in Russia is currently carried out only for health workers.

“Given the low risk of importing monkeypox into Russia, smallpox vaccines are currently used exclusively for healthcare workers who may be at high risk of contracting the virus,” the center said.

They also noted that control at border checkpoints in the case of monkeypox is strengthened in the same way as with other threats of any especially dangerous infection.

In addition, the center reported that, despite the fact that the monkeypox virus in some cases leads to severe illness, the mortality rate is from 1 to 11%.

Professor of the Department of Virology at the Faculty of Biology of Moscow State University Alexei Agranovsky, in an interview with RT, said that the disease caused by the monkeypox virus is quite rare in humans, but cases of transmission from animals to humans and within the human population are possible.

He also expressed the opinion that it is impossible to talk about an outbreak yet, since separate, mostly imported cases have been registered in the world.

“However, if society as a whole can not worry yet, then specialists cannot relax.

The features of the strain (or strains) of the virus that came to Europe and North America will soon be studied, possible causes and ways of transmission of the virus will be investigated.

It’s too early to draw conclusions,” the specialist emphasized.

Agranovsky clarified that, being transmitted from person to person, the virus loses its pathogenicity, which does not allow it to be recognized as a possible causative agent of the epidemic.

“So far, not a single case has been registered in Russia,” the specialist added.