Other steps you can take to protect your children are: More information about the RTA Label and compatible services can be found here. Parental tools that are compatible with the RTA label will block access to this site. We use the "Restricted To Adults" (RTA) website label to better enable parental filtering. Protect your children from adult content and block access to this site by using parental controls. PARENTS, PLEASE BE ADVISED: If you are a parent, it is your responsibility to keep any age-restricted content from being displayed to your children or wards. Furthermore, you represent and warrant that you will not allow any minor access to this site or services.
This website should only be accessed if you are at least 18 years old or of legal age to view such material in your local jurisdiction, whichever is greater.
Lewis said it would be "unfortunate" if monkeypox were able to "exploit the immunity gap" left by smallpox 40 years ago, saying that there was still a window of opportunity to close down the outbreak so that monkeypox would not become entrenched in new regions.You are about to enter a website that contains explicit material (pornography). Monkeypox is related to smallpox but has milder symptoms.Īfter smallpox was declared eradicated in 1980, countries suspended their mass immunisation programs, a move that some experts believe may be helping monkeypox spread, since there is now little widespread immunity to related diseases smallpox vaccines are also protective against monkeypox. WHO's Lewis also said that while previous cases of monkeypox in central and western Africa have been relatively contained, it was not clear if people could spread monkeypox without symptoms or if the disease might be airborne, like measles or COVID-19. No deaths have been reported in the current outbreak. People with more serious illnesses may develop a rash and lesions on the face and hands that can spread to other parts of the body. Most monkeypox patients experience only fever, body aches, chills and fatigue.
That marks a significant departure from the disease's typical pattern of spread in central and western Africa, where people are mainly infected by animals like wild rodents and primates, and epidemics haven't spilt across borders. Last week, a top adviser to WHO said the outbreak in Europe, the U.S., Israel, Australia and beyond was likely linked to sex at two recent raves in Spain and Belgium. "You may have these lesions for two to four weeks (and) they may not be visible to others, but you may still be infectious," she said. She also warned that among the current cases, there is a higher proportion of people with fewer lesions that are more concentrated in the genital region and sometimes nearly impossible to see. Monkeypox is known to spread when there is close physical contact with an infected person or their clothing or bedsheets. "It is not yet known whether this virus is exploiting a new mode of transmission, but what is clear is that it continues to exploit its well-known mode of transmission, which is close physical contact," Lewis said. Lewis said it's unknown whether monkeypox is being transmitted by sex or just the close contact between people engaging in sexual activity and described the threat to the general population as "low." Other experts have pointed out that it may be accidental that the disease was first picked up in gay and bisexual men, saying it could quickly spill over into other groups if it is not curbed.ĪLSO READ | Will the monkeypox outbreak turn into another pandemic? Here's all you need to know Still, she warned that anyone is at potential risk of the disease, regardless of their sexual orientation. "It's very important to describe this because it appears to be an increase in a mode of transmission that may have been under-recognized in the past," said Lewis, WHO's technical lead on monkeypox.