The World Health Organisation (WHO) has sounded the alarm over the emergence of monkeypox, as the number of cases continue to climb. The body recently declared monkey pox as a global health emergency – and while common symptoms are known, a new study suggests having a swollen penis could also be one of them. The…
The official symptoms, as per the WHO, are currently back aches, muscle aches, high temperature, swollen glands and exhaustion. But a study conducted earlier this year at Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust in London, 31 men out of 197 who had contracted monkeypox complained of penis pain and swelling.
According to WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Gebreysus, just over 16 000 cases of the virus have been picked up in 75 countries, including South Africa. So far, only five people have died from Monkeypox. At least two cases were record in the country, one of them being a 42-year-old male tourist from Switzerland.
WHO: RISK OF MONKEYPOX IS MODERATE
The World Health Organisation’s emergency committee had been failing to reach a consensus on whether the monkeypox outbreak should be classified as a global health emergency, but Dr Gebreysus said the pace at which the disease has spread across the world made it an international concern.
“The WHO’s assessment is that the risk of monkeypox is moderate globally and in all regions, except in the European region, where we assess the risk as high,” Dr Gebreysus said.
Monkeypox is usually a mild disease manifesting as blisters or sores on the skin. It is usually mild and with a fatality rate of 1 percent. The disease has previously been reported in African countries such as Nigeria, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Central African Republic and Ghana in the early 2000s.
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