Monkeypox In Nepal: 27-Year-Old With International Travel History Suspected To Have Contracted MPXV Virus in Kathmandu

Monkeypox Outbreak: A suspected case of monkeypox has been found in Nepal. According to Sukraraj Tropical and Infectious Diseases Hospital (STIDH) in Teku, Kathmandu, the youth who arrived from Dubai is being monitored after he exhibited monkeypox-like symptoms. The 27-year-old had fever on Thursday and there were red blisters on his body and hands.Also Read – EU Buys Almost 110,000 Doses of Danish Vaccine to Curb Monkeypox

Infectious disease specialist Sher Bahadur Pun said that a sample has been sent to the National Public Health Laboratory to ascertain whether the blisters on the youth’s body and hands have been caused by the monkeypox virus. According to news agency IANS, the hospital said the patients health is normal at present. Also Read – WHO To Change Monkeypox Virus Name. Here’s Why

WHO To Change Monkeypox Virus Name

The World Health Organization (WHO) announced it will change the name of the monkeypox virus that has spread to over 20 countries. At press briefing, World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the health body was working with partners and experts from around the world on changing the “name of monkeypox virus, its clades and the disease it causes” Also Read – WHO Says Monkeypox Outbreak ‘Unusual, Concerning’, To Decide Soon If It Represents Global Health Emergency

This comes after over 30 international scientists last week claimed monkeypox name is “stigmatizing and discriminatory” and there’s an “urgent” need to change the name.

Spike in Monkeypox cases

Since early May 2022, cases of monkeypox have been reported from countries where the disease is not endemic, and continue to be reported in several endemic countries. Most confirmed cases with travel history reported travel to countries in Europe and North America, rather than West or Central Africa where the monkeypox virus is endemic. This is the first time that many monkeypox cases and clusters have been reported concurrently in non-endemic and endemic countries in widely disparate geographical areas.