WHO to rename monkeypox as it studies possible sexual transmission; might consider virus world threat
The World Health Organization has scheduled an emergency meeting for next week on the monkeypox outbreak to determine if the virus should be classed as a threat to international health. The agency is also investigating exactly how the disease is spreading.
CBS News' Tina Kraus reports the United Nations health agency is now exploring the possibility that monkeypox could be sexually transmitted, after the virus was found in body fluids of patients in Italy and Germany. Catherine Smallwood, the WHO incident manager for monkeypox in Europe, said that among the identified cases on the continent, some "had semen tested for [the] virus and came back positive, so that's something that we're looking at."
The agency has already said the disease — which has infected more than 1,600 people in 35 countries, including the U.S. — is transmitted through close physical contact.
In the U.K., a survey of 152 monkeypox patients found that 99% identified as men who have sex with men, according to Britain's Health Security Agency.
