The World Health Organization listed the monkeypox outbreak as an "international public health emergency of concern" in August, indicating a risk of spread. The World Health Organization believes that the risk faced by the general public is relatively low, and also recommends that countries improve and strengthen their medical monitoring systems to prevent the importation of monkeypox virus. The risk of spillover from Africa has increased. The last time the World Health Organization issued the highest level alert for monkeypox was in July 2022, and it was lifted in May 2023. After more than a year, the alert has been sounded again. The World Health Organization recently released data showing that the number of reported cases of monkeypox this year has exceeded 15600. According to data from the African Center for Disease Control and Prevention on August 8th, at least 16 countries in Africa have been affected by monkeypox, with a 160% increase in reported cases compared to the same period in 2023. Several countries outside of Africa have reported imported cases of monkeypox. The Director General of the World Health Organization, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said that what people are facing now is not an outbreak of a virus branch, but several outbreaks of different branches in different countries, with different transmission modes and risk levels. Multiple countries and regions' entry and exit departments have upgraded quarantine measures to prevent imported cases. On August 16th, the European Centre for Disease Control and Prevention raised the overall risk of monkeypox infection in the European Union from "very low" to "low". The European Center for Disease Control and Prevention also recommends that European countries issue travel warnings for people traveling to and from areas affected by monkeypox outbreaks. Monkeypox is a viral zoonotic disease. The initial symptoms of monkeypox infection in humans include fever, headache, muscle soreness, back pain, and swollen lymph nodes, which can later develop into a widespread rash on the face and body. Most infected individuals will recover within a few weeks, but there are also cases of severe illness or even death. According to media reports, an increasing number of cases this year have been infected with the variant strain "Branch Ib" of the monkeypox "Branch I" strain. It has a higher mortality rate and is easier to spread than the "Branch II" strain that was prevalent in 2022. After the emergence of the Democratic Republic of the Congo last year, "branch Ib" has spread to Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda and other neighboring countries that have never reported monkeypox cases before, which is one of the main reasons why WHO announced that the monkeypox epidemic once again constitutes a "public health emergency of international concern". Researchers have gained a lot of knowledge about the "branch II" strain of monkeypox virus, but there is still more research needed for the "branch I" strain. The British journal Nature reported that the "branch Ib" variant seems to be able to effectively spread in populations through various pathways, including sexual contact. The virus has spread to densely populated areas, and it is speculated that it was transmitted to neighboring countries by highly mobile populations such as sex workers. Katherine Smallwood, an emergency action project officer at the WHO Regional Office for Europe, stated that Europe has only reported one case of monkeypox "branch Ib" strain infection from Sweden, which only presents mild clinical symptoms. In fact, most of the 27000 reported cases of monkeypox in Europe since 2022 have only mild clinical symptoms. At present, the most common monkeypox virus in Europe is still the "branch II" strain. Hans Kluge, Director of the European Regional Office of the World Health Organization, said that there are about 100 new cases of monkeypox "branch II" strain infection every month in the European region. The public health recommendations from the past two years in the European region are still valid. The European Centre for Disease Control and Prevention has stated in its latest risk assessment that the risk of infection is "moderate" after close contact with imported cases of suspected or confirmed monkeypox strains. As long as the imported cases are quickly diagnosed and control measures are taken, the likelihood of monkeypox continuing to spread in Europe is very low. The prevention and control measures need to be strengthened. A report in the journal Nature stated that in order to curb the spread of monkeypox virus, emergency measures must be taken, including stronger and wider epidemiological monitoring, case tracking and management, and controlling the spread of related strains by vaccinating high-risk populations to avoid triggering new epidemics. WHO spokesperson Tarik Yasharevich recently stated at a press conference that the WHO needs to assess populations at risk of monkeypox infection and develop response measures. The virus is transmitted through close skin contact or contact with animals, and a strong health system needs to be established to monitor the distribution of the virus. Countries need to establish monitoring systems and have clinical testing capabilities. Chen Enqiang, the medical team leader and chief physician of infectious diseases Center of West China Hospital of Sichuan University, suggested that if you suspect that you have monkeypox, you should go to a regular hospital with an infectious disease department, infectious disease department or dermatology department as soon as possible, and inform the doctor of your symptoms, travel history, contact history and other information. (New Society)