The President of the United States, Joe Biden, reiterated this Sunday, May 22nd, that the effects of monkeypox, a disease already identified in several countries, could be “consequential” if it continues to spread.
Since the beginning of May, several cases of monkeypox have been detected in countries in North America and Europe, raising concerns that the disease, which is endemic to parts of Africa, is spreading.
The US President said on his first trip to Asia as President in Seoul that health officials had not fully briefed him on “the level of exposure” in the United States.
YOU CAN SEE: Belgium orders mandatory quarantine for monkeypox patients
“But it’s something that should affect the whole world,” Biden told reporters before boarding Air Force One to fly to Tokyo.
“It’s worrying in the sense that there would be consequences if it spread,” he added.
In addition, he explained that they are working to “see what we can do and what vaccine could be used”.
YOU CAN SEE: The WHO assumes that further cases of monkeypox will occur
There is no treatment for monkeypox, which is transmitted through contact with an infected person or their bodily fluids.
Symptoms include fever, headache, muscle aches, back pain, swollen lymph nodes, chills, and fatigue.
Then there are rashes (on the face, palms, soles), lesions, pustules, and finally scabs.
YOU CAN SEE: More than half a century of mysteries solved: a UFO theory and the plane that swallowed the mountain range
According to the WHO, the symptoms last between 14 and 21 days.
With information from AFP and Europa Press