After the COVID-19 pandemic tragedy that claimed millions of innocent lives and billions of people are still struggling with the deadly virus, the monkeypox is threatening to replace coronavirus (“US reports nearly 24,000 monkeypox cases,” Sept. 19, Gulf Today website).

According to the report, nearly 24,000 monkeypox cases had been confirmed in the US as of Monday, according to the latest data of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

California had the most confirmed cases among US states so far, with 4,656 cases, followed by New York with 3,755 and Florida with 2,398, Xinhua news agency reported, citing the CDC data. Monkeypox infections are rarely fatal, with most cases resolving within two to four weeks. According to the World Health Organization, the disease has a fatality rate of around 3 per cent to 6 per cent. The new figure of monkeypox cases in the United States prompted an alarming situation that can be worse if the world does not take monkeypox seriously.

The way the world has taken COVID-19 pandemic seriously, it’s important to work united to save the world from the new monkeypox virus.

Shahzad Khan,
By email