The head of the World Health Organization (WHO), Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, has declared the outbreak of monkeypox an international emergency.

“I have decided that the global outbreak of monkeypox is a public health emergency of international concern,” he said at a press conference following the second meeting of the WHO emergency committee, Reuters reported.

On July 7, WHO reported that in the first week of the month alone, about 2.6 thousand new cases of monkeypox infection in humans were detected around the world - 77% more than in the previous week. A total of 6027 cases of monkeypox infection and three deaths from the consequences of the disease were detected in 59 countries and territories from January 1 to July 4.

As of July 11, more than 9,000 cases of infection have been identified in 59 non-endemic countries and territories.

On July 12, the first case of monkeypox was confirmed in Russia, the press service of Rospotrebnadzor reported . According to the agency, "a young man who returned from a trip to Europe" became infected with it.

Molecular biologist and science journalist Irina Yakutenko previously told The Insider what threatens to identify the disease in Europe.

“This is a relative of the smallpox virus, but it is much less dangerous and causes in most cases mild symptoms, although unpleasant, fever, muscle pain, these papules all over the body that rupture, crust and can leave scars, but in most cases, people recover. The percentage of people who die among those identified is between 1 and 10 for bad strains. It seems like a lot, because we have 1% covid, and we are terrified, but it spreads much worse than covid.”

The disease is transmitted through direct physical contact and airborne droplets. The incubation period is from 5 to 21 days, the symptoms are fever, back and muscle pain, chills and fatigue.

Earlier, Rospotrebnadzor noted that in Russia many people are immune to smallpox thanks to vaccinations that were made in the 1980s.