Monkeypox Mutating Faster Than Previously Thought, Portuguese Health Institute Warns

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The monkeypox virus is likely to mutate faster than previously thought, explaining why it appears to be more transmissible, Joao Paulo Gomes, a scientist from Portugal’s National Institute of Health in Lisbon, said on Friday.

"[Outbreak] caused by a virus that presents more mutations than we could expect for this type of virus. It was quite unexpected to find so many mutations in the 2022 monkeypox virus," Gomes said, as quoted by the Financial Times.

The newspaper added that a group of Portuguese scientists found 50 mutations of the virus despite the fact that viruses of this type are often quite stable.

On Thursday, the World Health Organization said that more than 3,200 people from 48 countries contracted the virus in the last six weeks, while one person died. Majority of those infected are gay and bisexual men.

Monkeypox is a rare viral disease that is usually transmitted to people from wild animals and is endemic in some African countries. The disease can be transmitted through body fluids, respiratory droplets, and other contaminated materials. The disease usually results in fever, rash, and swollen lymph nodes.