257 cases of smallpox have already been officially confirmed. About 120 other cases are suspected. Fortunately no deaths have yet been reported.
This was the urgent statement of the World Health Organization that specified that "the situation is evolving rapidly."
Two other cases have recently been identified in Italy. According to the WHO, “the vast majority of cases reported so far have no travel history in endemic areas.
The WHO states that identifying confirmed and suspected cases of monkey pox without direct links to an endemic area is "atypical".
The sudden onset in some non-endemic areas "suggests that there may have been undetected transmission for some time and that recent events have reinforced the spread of the virus."
In its report, the World Health Organization recalls that there are three immediate actions that need to be taken: providing accurate information to those who may be most at risk; stopping further spread among risk groups; protection of health workers in the front line