WHO estimates the disease is fatal for up to one in 10 people, but smallpox vaccines are protective and some antiviral drugs are also being developed. Monkeypox typically causes fever, chills, a rash and lesions on the face or genitals. 'This is not the kind of spread we’ve seen in West Africa, so there may be something new happening in the West,' he said. Every day I wake up and there are more countries infected,' said Oyewale Tomori, a virologist who formerly headed the Nigerian Academy of Science and who sits on several World Health Organization advisory boards. But in the past week, Britain, Spain, Portugal, Italy, U.S., Sweden and Canada all reported infections, mostly in young men who hadn’t previously traveled to Africa.įrance, Germany, Belgium and Australia confirmed their first cases of monkeypox on Friday. Scientists who have monitored numerous outbreaks of monkeypox in Africa say they are baffled by the disease's recent spread in Europe and North America.Ĭases of the smallpox-related disease have previously been seen only among people with links to central and West Africa. (Photo Illustration by Pavlo Gonchar/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images) UKRAINE - 1: In this photo illustration, the word Monkeypox is seen on a screen of a smartphone with a map of the world in the background.
