MOSCOW, June 2. /TASS/. The adaptation of the monkeypox virus to humans increases as more transmissions among humans occur. The adapted virus will then spread faster, Head of the Cell Proliferation Laboratory of the Engelhardt Institute of Molecular Biology of Russia’s Academy of Sciences Pyotr Chumakov said at a press conference on Wednesday.
"The alarming circumstance is that the virus gained the ability to spread among humans. The more there are human-to-human transmissions, the higher the possibility that this will lead to the virus adapting to human population which may cause the accelerated spread of the virus," he noted.
The scientist stressed that the fact that so far the virus had low transmissibility shouldn’t be reassuring. "It is necessary to closely monitor the unfolding situation," he noted.
The early symptoms of this disease are non-specific, including headaches and elevated body temperature. Only later, lymph nodes swell and a characteristic skin rash appears, the scientist noted.
The World Health Organization (WHO) notes that monkeypox is a rare viral disease which is endemic to remote regions near tropical forests of Central and Western Africa. According to the WHO, this virus is usually transmitted to humans by wild animals, such as rodents and primates, while its secondary spread among humans is limited. According to the WHO, usually the lethality coefficient during monkeypox outbreaks ranges from 1% to 10% with the majority of fatalities in the younger age groups. There is no specific treatment or vaccine, yet earlier inoculation against smallpox also serves as highly effective prevention. Currently, monkeypox is being registered in Europe where this disease is non-endemic.