The World Health Organization’s European office said Saturday that more monkeypox-related deaths can be expected, following reports of the first fatalities outside Africa, while stressing that severe complications were still rare.
“With the continued spread of monkeypox in Europe, we will expect to see more deaths,” Catherine Smallwood, Senior Emergency Officer at WHO Europe, said in a statement.
Smallwood emphasised that the goal needs to be “interrupting transmission quickly in Europe and stopping this outbreak”. However, Smallwood stressed that in most cases the disease heals itself without the need for treatment.
“The notification of deaths due to monkeypox does not change our assessment of the outbreak in Europe. We know that although self-limiting in most cases, monkeypox can cause severe complications,” Smallwood noted.—AFP
