With virus found in 11 countries, TN on alert

The World Health Organization (WHO), has for the first time since the current outbreak of the monkeypox in around 11 countries, said the virus is primarily spreading through sex among men.

Warning that the virus  might take in its grip more nations, the WHO, however, maintained that the disease is "containable".  Meanwhile in India, Tamil Nadu has gone in an alert mode and directed the district Collectors and Commissioners of corporations to monitor and identify suspected cases of monkeypox, if any, and isolate them at healthcare facilities for appropriate treatment.

First reported on May 7 in the UK, monkeypox has rapidly spread to over a dozen countries, where the virus is typically not found unlike some countries in Central and West Africa, with about 200 confirmed and suspected cases. So far no-associated deaths have been reported.

The WHO has warned that the infection is likely to spread to more nations even as it expands surveillance. It further said that the identification of confirmed and suspected cases of monkeypox with no direct travel links to an endemic area "represents a highly unusual event".

"We've seen a few cases in Europe over the last five years, just in travellers, but this is the first time we're seeing cases across many countries at the same time in people who have not travelled to the endemic regions in Africa," Rosamund Lewis, who runs the WHO's smallpox research, said in a Q&A live streamed on the health body's social media channels.

"Many diseases can be spread through sexual contact. You could get a cough or a cold through sexual contact, but it doesn't mean that it's a sexually transmitted disease," Andy Seale, who advises the WHO on HIV, hepatitis and other sexually transmitted infections, told a news channel. Monkeypox has not previously been described as a sexually transmitted infection, but it can be passed on by direct contact during sex.

The WHO also noted that monkeypox can be contained in countries outside of Africa where the virus is not usually detected. "This is a containable situation," the WHO's emerging disease lead Maria Van Kerkhove said at a news conference on Monday. "We want to stop human-to-human transmission. We can do this in non-endemic countries," she added, referring to recent cases in Europe and North America.

Experts have suggested that countries should review the availability of the smallpox vaccine which is also effective against monkeypox.