The president of United States, Joe Bidensaid this Sunday that the impact of monkeypox, a disease that has already been detected in several countries, could be “consequent” if it were to spread further.
Since early May, several cases of monkeypox have been detected in countries in North America and Europe, raising concerns that the disease, endemic in parts of Africa, is spreading.
The US president, on his first trip to Asia as president, said in Seoul that health authorities have not fully informed him about “the level of exposure” in USA.
“But it’s something that should concern the whole world,” Biden told reporters before boarding Air Force One to fly to Tokyo.
“It is a concern in the sense that if it were to spread it would be consequential,” he added.
There is no treatment for monkey poxwhich is spread by contact with an infected person or their bodily fluids and heals on its own.
Symptoms include fever, headache, muscle aches, back pain, swollen lymph nodes, chills, and fatigue.
Rashes (on the face, palms of the hands, soles of the feet), lesions, pustules, and finally scabs then appear.
According to the WHO, symptoms last between 14 and 21 days.
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