MOSCOW, June 25. /TASS/. Monkeypox cannot be considered a pandemic due to the small number of cases, this virus is not highly contagious, infectious disease doctor Yevgeny Timakov told TASS. Earlier, the World Health Network called for monkeypox to be declared a pandemic.
"This disease in no way be considered a pandemic. Only a few get sick, it is not highly contagious. The virus may have changed in some way, but it does not pose a danger on a global scale," the expert explained.
Timakov recalled that the virus is transmitted only through close contact with the infected. "If from an animal, when it (monkeypox - TASS) is transmitted to a person, it (the virus - TASS) is more dangerous, from a person to a person it is less dangerous, as it loses its pathogens," he added.
The expert also noted that increased monitoring of persons entering the Russian Federation from countries where cases of infection have already been recorded is justified and correct.
Monkeypox is a rare viral disease, usually transmitted to humans by wild animals such as rodents and primates. The symptoms include fever, headache, muscle and back pains, swollen lymph nodes, chills and fatigue. It may also involve skin rash. 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.