More than 1,000 cases of monkeypox have been reported from 29 non-endemic countries since May, while no deaths have been registered, WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said earlier this week. “Some countries are also reporting community transmission. The WHO is particularly concerned about the risks of this virus in vulnerable populations, including children and pregnant women. There are vaccines available but in limited supply. WHO does not recommend mass vaccination,” Tedros had said, adding that it was unfortunate that the international community was only now paying attention to the virus even as monkeypox had been killing people in Africa for decades.
Now, WHO expert Dr. Rosamund Lewis, in a video shared by the world health body on Saturday, explained why the risk of the virus has been said to be “moderate”.
“Most people who contract the virus do not become seriously ill. However, the risk has been described as moderate because it’s spreading to locations where it has never been reported before. So this new pattern of spread is concerning. So WHO aims to identify where the risk may be, who may be at risk. This is the message we’re sending – If you know your own risk, you can lower your risk,” she explained, answering a question.
The world health body has also come up with certain guidelines amid concerns over the virus. Some of the recommendations are:
1. Since most cases are believed to be mild, the WHO says: “A home assessment should be conducted when deciding to isolate and care for a person with suspected or confirmed infection with mild uncomplicated disease in a home setting.”
2. Extra care and precaution should be given while handling cleaning linens, household surfaces and during waste disposal. And the symptoms in mild cases should be constantly monitored.
3. While experts have been repeatedly flagging discrimination over the spread of the virus, the WHO further shares that patients should be monitored for “anxiety and depressive symptoms” for their mental health.
4. All patients should be advised to abstain from sex until “all skin lesions have crusted, the scabs have fallen off and a fresh layer of skin has formed underneath”, the guidelines say.
5. Patients at high risk for complications – such as young children, pregnant women and those who are immunosuppressed – or those with severe or complicated infection should be admitted to the hospital for closer monitoring and clinical care under appropriate isolation precautions to prevent transmission.
6. Newborns of infected mothers should be constantly monitored, and “infant feeding practices, including whether to stop breastfeeding for a mother infected with the virus, should be assessed on a case-by-case basis”.
