“Watching for any virus that amplifies its reach is absolutely right and, as Covid has taught us, doing it quickly is even more important. But people need to know that we are not taking action against a possible pandemic, nor should they associate the monkeypox to human smallpox “. Maria Rita Gismondo, director of the Laboratory of clinical microbiology, virology and bio-emergency diagnostics at the Sacco hospital in Milan, explains this to Adnkronos Salute. The ‘monkeypox’ is in fact “a pathology fortunately much less serious. Cases of this infection, in small numbers, have also occurred in the past and usually – recalls the microbiologist – these micro-epidemics are self-limited”. “If the World Health Organization declares monkeypox an international public health emergency, I really believe it will because on Covid it was instead accused, and rightly so, of delays with a lack of coordination at least in the initial stages of the pandemic.” An eventual Pheic (Public Health Emergency of International Concern) statement, the expert underlines, “could be useful to favor a univocal action against this virus and immediately limit its spread”.
