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Sanitary watchdog chief states isolated monkeypox cases in Russia

"Those are imported cases," Anna Popova said

SOCHI, June 12. /TASS/. Isolated instances of monkeypox have been registered in Russia, the Head of Federal Service for Surveillance on Consumer Rights Protection and Human Wellbeing (Russia’s sanitary watchdog) Anna Popova said, adding that the situation is being monitored.

"In the Russian Federation, we keep the situation [with monkeypox] under control, we see isolated cases, those are imported cases. We understand what and how to do," she told reporters.

Mpox is a rare viral disease which is endemic to remote regions near tropical forests of Central and Western Africa. The first case of an animal transmitting the disease to humans was recorded in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in 1970. 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. Mpox is most often accompanied by a skin rash or mucosal lesions, which can last from two to four weeks. Additional symptoms include fever, headache, muscle aches, back pain, low energy and swollen lymph nodes.Usually the lethality coefficient during mpox outbreaks ranges from 1% to 10% with the majority of fatalities affecting younger age groups.

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