The World Health Organization has asked people not to attack monkeys because of monkeypox

As the number of reported cases of monkeypox continues to rise all around the world, this is not a good time to be a monkey.zhaojiankang/istockphoto

According to accounts in the local media that quote officials from the Brazilian police, the monkeys have been subjected to physical attacks in recent days, including poisoning and stones, in Brazil. Some of the primates have even been murdered. According to a news site in Brazil called G1, in the past week at least ten animals of the marmoset and capuchin types were found displaying signs of drunkenness or hostility, leading to worries that they had been poisoned. In a recent report of Daily News, while the remaining monkeys are being monitored at a zoo in the municipality of So José do Rio Preto, which is located in the state of So Paulo, seven of the primates passed away.

Because of these attacks, the World Health Organization, which only a month ago proclaimed monkeypox a global health emergency according to The Washington Post, has issued a reminder that despite the fact that the virus is named after monkeys, monkeys should not be blamed for the transmission of the disease.

Margaret Harris, a WHO spokesperson, told reporters on that the transmission that they are seeing is taking place from humans to humans, which is something that people need to know very clearly. "They shouldn't be attacking any animals at all," she said. Specifically, it's close-contact transmission. Harris said that the virus was much more commonly in various rodents than monkeys and that research was ongoing to determine whether the virus should be renamed, adding that the focus should be on where the virus is transmitting in the human population and what humans can do to protect themselves from getting it and transmitting it.

Brazilian officials speculate that the latest virus outbreak is fueling anti-monkey sentiment and behavior. However, they also observed that the planned attacks could be linked to animal trafficking. Local media reported that environmental military police officers are now patrolling the forest of Rio Preto to prevent further attacks on the animals. The National Network to Combat Wildlife Trafficking has blamed "a lack of information" in Brazilian society for the "persecution" of monkeys and the attacks.

According to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there are over 32,000 confirmed cases of monkeypox worldwide. Since its initial springtime outbreak, which has resulted in cases being documented in 89 different countries, the epidemic has been most noticeable in Europe. The United States and Britain, both of which seldom report cases of monkeypox, have recently seen an increase in the number of reported cases, spurring the development of countermeasures by government health agencies.

More than 2,131 instances of monkeypox have been identified in Brazil, a country that, like the United States, has not previously reported the disease. Brazilian monkeys do not represent a threat to humans, according to a virologist from the Faculty of Medicine in Rio Preto named Maurcio Lacerda, who spoke with local media. What we're seeing in Brazil, Europe, and the U.S. is... people who are sick and are passing it on to others through close contact. Monkeys in Brazil are not harboring the monkeypox virus, he said. "Don't freak out," he reassured.

Researchers in Denmark used the primates to identify the virus, which is transmitted by a number of animals other than just nonhuman primates, including rats, dormice, and squirrels. The name "monkeypox" emerged after the researchers used the primates to identify the virus. Since the beginning of the outbreak in May, the majority of cases of monkeypox have been recorded in males who are gay or bisexual or who have sexual relations with other males.

The virus that causes monkeypox can be passed from person to person through close contact, as well as by respiratory droplets, bodily fluids, and contaminated things such as clothing and bedding. Last month, the virus was declared a "public health emergency" in the United States as health officials hurried to give greater access to treatments, financing, and vaccines in response to rising case counts. According to CNN health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports the first two monkeypox cases in children in the United States.

According to The New York Times, President Biden’s health secretary, Xavier Becerra, said that

We urge every American to take monkeypox seriously and to take responsibility to help us tackle this virus.