WHO says no evidence monkeypox virus has mutated

A senior executive at the World Health Organization stated on Monday that there is no evidence that the monkeypox virus has evolved, noting that the infectious disease, which is widespread in west and central Africa, has a tendency to stay the same.

At a press conference, Rosamund Lewis, the head of the WHO’s smallpox secretariat, said that mutations are normally lower with this virus, yet genome sequencing of cases will aid understanding of the present outbreak.
According to Maria van Kerkhove, WHO’s emerging diseases and zoonoses director and technical lead on COVID-19, the more than 100 suspected and confirmed cases in the recent outbreak in Europe and North America were not severe.

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“This is an issue that can be controlled,” she remarked.

According to the WHO, the outbreaks are unusual because they are occurring in countries where the virus does not normally spread. Scientists are trying to figure out where the cases came from and if the virus has mutated in any way.