MOSCOW, May 30. /TASS/. No monkeypox cases have been confirmed in Russia, with the risks of importing the disease being seen as low, Russia’s sanitary watchdog said on Monday.

"No monkeypox cases were registered in Russia. <…> Risks of monkeypox importing to Russia is assessed as low due to restrictions on air service," it said, adding that it has been taking all necessary measures to prevent the disease’s importing to Russia.

Meanwhile, Prof. Gennady Onishchenko, a member of the Russian Academy of Sciences, said on Monday that the monkeypox virus is little contagious. "There are not many monkeypox cases. It is an airborne virus but its transmissibility is very low, at least so far," he told a news conference.

According to Onishchenko, there are no prerequisites for monkeypox spread as of now. "At least this year, there are no prerequisites for resuming or beginning large-scale vaccination against the currently circulating strain. And hope there will be none," he added.

Monkeypox is a viral zoonotic disease transmitted to humans through close contact with an infected person or animal (rodents, primate) or with material contaminated with the virus. Its symptoms include fever, headache, muscle pains, swollen lymph nodes, feeling tired, and rash. The incubation period is around ten days and the symptoms typically last from two to four weeks. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the case fatality ratio ranges from one to ten percent, with the majority of deaths occurring in younger age groups.

In the past two months, monkeypox cases have been registered in several Western European countries. The World Health Organization said it knows about 257 confirmed cases and 120 suspected cases in 23 world countries.