The situation with monkeypox, despite the initial reports on outbreaks, has become clearer with the infection’s chain and hotspots quite evident, yet its incidence has decreased, Melita Vujnovic, World Health Organization (WHO) representative in Russia, said in an interview with TASS, News.az reports.

"Currently, we see the infection’s chain and hotspots, so to say, in Europe and North America. The number of cases has decreased, now there aren’t that many cases as they were when we saw it initially. <...> Of course, everyone was alarmed by the news at first because this is a family of viruses that cause smallpox and of course, everybody was worried but it seems to me that now the situation is clearer as to what is going on," she clarified.

That said, the WHO envoy compared the situation around smallpox with the coronavirus infection pandemic, asserting that both situations are of international importance. However, she emphasized that smallpox is less transmissible in Russia so there is less attention paid to it.

"It's very important to understand here that you don't have to protect yourself from one disease. You need good infection control in healthcare facilities to ensure both patient safety and the prevention of any infections that are either familiar or reoccurring," Vujnovich added.