WHO: Imposing travel ban due to monkeypox outbreak not recommended

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According to the infectious hazards management chief in the World Health Organization (WHO), travel restrictions due to the monkeypox outbreak are not advised.

During a briefing on Friday, Sylvie Briand said, "We don’t recommend travel bans or restrictions and we need to continue to communicate about what we know, what is being done."

Briand believed it is necessary that countries respond adequately to the spread of monkeypox, by tracking and isolating the contacts of those infected.    

Rosamund Lewis, the Head of the Smallpox Secretariat at the WHO said that the organization does not consider mass vaccination as necessary.  

"There is no need for mass vaccination. There is no need for large immunization campaigns. This is a condition that is transmitted primarily by close physical contact, skin to skin contact, face to face contact and therefore, contact tracing, investigation, and isolation remain the primary modes of control for the time being," Lewis said.    

The first case of monkeypox reported was on May 7, in a patient who had traveled to Nigeria. Since then, an outbreak of monkeypox has also been confirmed in some European and North American countries. As of Thursday, about 200 monkeypox cases were registered by the WHO in over 20 countries across the world, with another 100 cases being investigated.    

Monkeypox is a rare viral disease that is usually transmitted from wild animals to people and is endemic in some African countries. It can be transmitted through respiratory droplets, body fluids, and other contaminated materials. The disease usually results in fever, swollen lymph nodes, and rash.