– We are working hard to stop this. We have made a great effort to stop this from spreading further in the population. Siri Laura Feruglio, acting director of infection control and emergency preparedness at NIPH, told news. In the ongoing outbreak, over 6,000 have been infected with monkey pox around the world. Norway now has 22 confirmed cases. The first case in Norway was confirmed on 31 May. Since mid-June, infection rates in Norway have more than doubled. All the Norwegian infected are men. – We have not seen such a large prevalence of monkey cups before, especially related to the environment where men have sex with men. There have been some reports of infection through intimate contact before, but never to the extent we see now, says Feruglio. 17 of those infected in Norway are between 20 and 49 years old, and 17 of the 22 live in Oslo and Viken. – Here in Norway, we have established test capacity in the various health regions, and have also expanded the group that works with this in FHI. The municipalities also have a very important role in this – when it comes to infection detection around the cases, she says. In Spain and Germany, they are researching and making vaccines against monkey pox. WHO crisis meeting In Africa, the outbreak is considered a crisis situation. The WHO has previously concluded that monkey pox is not a global health crisis, but has nevertheless described it as a “deeply disturbing, ongoing health threat”. These images show various rashes from the monkey pox virus. Photo: HANDOUT / AFP On Wednesday, however, the WHO called for a new crisis meeting. They will now discuss whether the outbreak should be declared a global health crisis, which is the WHO’s highest level of preparedness. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus believes that little testing has led to large numbers in the dark. “I am still very concerned about the extent and spread of the virus around the world,” he said during a conference in Geneva. WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has called for an emergency meeting. Photo: AP / NTB scanpix The virus originates in African countries. Monkey pox usually produces mild symptoms in the form of fever and rash, and is rarely fatal. It is a virus you can get bothersome from, with boils on your body. But it is not considered a very dangerous disease. The WHO emphasizes that monkey pox is not a disease that the general population should be concerned about. And there is no need for mass vaccination or herd immunity campaigns. Cases of spread to children One of the reasons why the WHO is now particularly concerned is that some cases have been reported in children. – Infections have been reported in children from some countries in Europe, says Feruglio, who emphasizes that no children in Norway have been infected by monkey pox in the ongoing outbreak. Monkey cups seen under a microscope. Photo: RUSSELL RE CYNTHIA S. GOLDSMITH / Reuters The infected get the characteristic rash that we know with monkey cups from before. – What we see now is that more people become infected through intimate or sexual contact, so the rashes often occur earlier in the genitals, groin or around the rectal opening, says Feruglio. Use of vaccine is something that is considered continuously. “Vaccines are a limited resource, so there is an ongoing assessment of how these can be used when we receive them,” she says.
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