A new disease is spreading in Europe — monkeypox. The WHO is already convening an urgent meeting

The World Health Organization is convening an urgent meeting on the spread of monkeypox in Europe. So far, 100 patients have been registered in different countries.

This was reported by Reuters.

The WHO notes that the situation with the spread of the disease is monitored daily and such a meeting is one of the monitoring measures. Monkeypox is spread by humans through close contact, and usually does not extend beyond Africa.

The WHO will also discuss the fact that the disease mainly affects gays and bisexuals, and possible vaccination. However, sources believe that the agency will not declare a state of emergency due to the spread of monkeypox.

Monkeypox is a rare infection that is mostly spread by wild animals in parts of West or Central Africa. You can get this disease from contact with an infected animal, but scientists are not sure that it is from monkeys — in their opinion, rodents transmit monkeypox to humans. A person can catch monkeypox if it is bitten by an infected animal, or if a person comes in contact with the animalʼs fluid: blood, feces, saliva and other secretions. You can also become infected if you eat undercooked meat.

At the same time, the disease is very rarely transmitted between people and is easily tolerable. Monkeypox is characterized by fever and rashes. There is no special vaccine against monkeypox, but scientists believe that the vaccine against smallpox is also effective. In addition, it can be injected after contact with an infected person — it will greatly facilitate the disease.