The first Monkeypox case in Finland has been confirmed

On Friday, the Helsinki hospital district confirmed the country's first case of monkeypox. An orthopoxvirus infection was discovered in the Helsinki area on Wednesday, and its sequencing has now proven that it was monkeypox. 

According to global health experts, monkeypox, a type of viral infection that is most common in West and Central Africa, is on the rise in Europe and elsewhere. Simultaneously, the World Health Organization claimed that the transmission of monkeypox outside of Africa is manageable, and other states announced limited vaccination to prevent virus diseases from spreading.

Vaccination with precision

Some countries have already begun taking precautionary measures to protect those infected with the virus. The French Ministry of Health suggested immunization for anyone who has had contact with a confirmed monkeypox patient, as well as health staff who have been exposed to an infected patient, on Tuesday. 

Denmark, according to the Danish Health Authority, followed suit by providing immunizations to close contacts of persons afflicted with the virus. Two cases have been reported across the country.

Bavarian Nordic BAVA.CO is the vaccine's manufacturer. It is known as Jynneos in the United States and is approved for the treatment of smallpox and monkeypox. It is also approved in Europe for smallpox under the brand name Imvanex, however, its off-label use has been approved in response to cases of monkeypox.

If the country's outbreak worsens, Germany has ordered 40,000 doses of antiviral medication for sick people's contacts. However, officials have stated that for the time being, they are depending on other preventive measures.

According to Health Minister Karl Lauterbach, the outbreak is manageable with early action and does not herald the start of a new pandemic, and a senior WHO official issued a similar declaration on Monday. On Monday, US health officials planned to make specific Jynneos dosages available. Last week, officials in the United Kingdom were the first to immunize healthcare workers and others who may have been exposed to monkeypox.

No mutation

The World Health Organization reported on Tuesday that the outbreak of monkeypox cases outside of Africa may be contained, as other countries approved limited immunization to combat the virus's spread.

Since early May, authorities in 19 countries have been investigating 237 suspected and confirmed instances of the virus. This number is expected to climb, according to WHO authorities, but the majority of cases to date have not been serious. Scientists do not expect a pandemic because the virus does not spread as easily as SARS-COV-2.

The monkeypox virus is prevalent throughout West and Central Africa. It spreads primarily through close contact and was infrequent in other parts of the world before the recent outbreak, thus the unexpected surge in cases has caused concern. The vast bulk of European events has been documented. 

England reported fourteen new cases on Tuesday, bringing the total number of cases since May 7 to seventy, while the United Arab Emirates and the Czech Republic reported their first symptoms. Sylvie Briand, the WHO's director of global infectious hazard preparedness, encouraged everyone to increase surveillance for monkeypox to identify transmission levels and travel.

She described the pandemic as "weird" but "containable." Vaccines and treatments for monkeypox are also available, she added, urging appropriate containment measures, expanded research, and global collaboration.

"Let us not make a mountain out of a molehill," she said at the World Health Assembly in Geneva. The World Health Organization (WHO) is launching new immunization programs for countries and holding further meetings to give member countries additional ideas on how to deal with the problem.