WHO condemns monkey attacks over pox fears

The World Health Organization (WHO) on Tuesday decried increasing attacks on monkeys over fears of spread of monkeypox in Brazil.

"What people need to know is that the transmission we are seeing is happening between humans," Margaret Harris, the spokeswoman for the WHO, told reporters in Geneva.

Harris's comments came after Brazilian news website, G1, reported Sunday that 10 monkeys had been poisoned in less than a week in Sao Jose do Rio Preto city in southeastern Sao Paulo state.

Harris said that while the disease can spread from animals to humans, the recent outbreak is between humans only.

"People certainly should not attack the animals," she said. 

Similar incidents were also reported in other cities, with people attacking monkeys by throwing stones or poisoning them, according to local media reports.

Monkeypox cases

Brazil has more than 1700 cases of monkeypox, according to figures from the WHO. One person died from the disease on July 29, according to Brazil's Health Ministry.

Monkeypox, caused by monkeypox virus, is transmitted from one person to another through droplets, contaminated objects and close contact with an infected person, according to the WHO.

So far, Europe has recorded around 13,912 confirmed cases, according to figures from the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control. 

Since May, nearly 90 countries have reported more than 29,000 monkeypox cases. The WHO classified the outbreak of the once-rare disease as a global health emergency in July.

rm/wd (AP, AFP)