Cases of monkeypox are being reported from multiple countries and many of them have not seen cases of the virus before, said Dr. Poonam Khetrapal Singh, Regional Director, WHO South-East Asia Region, on Monday, adding that genomic studies have revealed that the monkeypox virus seems to have changed over recent years.
‘’More studies are needed to understand the evolution. WHO is regularly reviewing available data with its laboratory and other expert groups,’’ she said.
Dr. Poonam further elaborated that the ‘‘unexpected appearance of this disease globally and in a wide geographic area indicates that the disease may have been circulating below the detection of the surveillance systems. It is possible that sustained human-to-human transmission through close contact - direct or indirect - has remained undetected for a period of time.”
