Stop killing monkeys for fear of monkeypox virus

The World Health Organization is concerned about the killing of monkeys in Brazil. This may occur for fear of monkeypox virus.

A news site reported that ten monkeys were poisoned in less than a week in the city of São José do Rio Preto. st 1. Five animals did not survive. Similar messages come from other places. Brazil has more than 1,700 cases of monkeypox.

“People need to know that the virus is currently transmitted between people,” a WHO spokesperson said. It says animal-to-human infection is possible, but the recent outbreak was the result of human contact. “These animals should definitely not be attacked,” the spokesman said.

More than 29,000 cases of monkeypox have been diagnosed in nearly 90 countries since May. The World Health Organization described the outbreak at the end of last month as international emergency.

The virus was first identified in humans in 1970 in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. For the first few days, symptoms include fever, headache, and swollen lymph nodes, followed within a few days by spots and then blisters on the skin. The disease is rarely fatal in countries with good health care.

In Amsterdam and The Hague, since the end of July, to feed against the virus. About 32,000 people can be vaccinated prophylactically. This includes people with HIV and people who are registered as PrEP users.