In Russia, as of May 23, there were no cases of infection with monkeypox. This was reported in the press service of Rospotrebnadzor on Monday.
The department added that the disease is not highly contagious, but transmission from person to person by airborne droplets is still possible with prolonged personal contact, reports RT.
Rospotrebnadzor also noted that Russians should avoid contact with rodents and primates that carry smallpox when visiting endemic countries, and eat only carefully cooked animal products.
The ministry asked to be vigilant of those who arrived in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Cameroon, the Central African Republic, Nigeria, Liberia, Côte d’Ivoire, Sierra Leone, Gabon and South Sudan, 360 TV channel reports.
Rospotrebnadzor added that in Russia there is a significant immune layer to stop the spread, NSN reports.
Rospotrebnadzor has also stepped up sanitary controls at the border to prevent the importation of monkeypox into Russia.
Earlier in the day, it was reported that a fourth case of monkeypox had been identified in Italy. A 32-year-old man, who had recently returned from the Canary Islands, was hospitalized in the infectious diseases department of a hospital in the city of Arezzo.
Monkeypox is a rare infectious disease most prevalent in remote areas of Central and West Africa. Among its symptoms are nausea, fever, rash, itching, as well as muscle pain, swollen lymph nodes, chills and fatigue.
The mortality rate for monkeypox outbreaks is typically between 1 and 10%, according to the WHO. There is no specific treatment or vaccine for monkeypox, but prior vaccination against smallpox also provides highly effective prevention of the disease.
Cases outside the region are often associated with travel to epidemiologically disadvantaged areas. The virus is spread through contact, but its virulence is low.
On May 22, the World Health Organization (WHO) confirmed 92 cases of monkeypox infection in humans. The organization said 28 more cases are under investigation.