An old idiom says, "it never rains, but it [snows / pours] ". This means that one difficult situation [lends / tends] to follow another in rapid [successive / succession] . Just as the COVID-19 pandemic is being brought [under / over] control in many parts of the world, another potential [treat / threat] is rearing its ugly head. The WHO has reported that there have been 120 worldwide cases of the [rare / rave] monkeypox virus. It has been detected in the UK, France, Italy, Portugal, Sweden, the USA, Canada and Australia. The WHO said the virus could spread further in the [going / coming] months. WHO spokesperson Hans Kluge said: "As we [entrance / enter] the summer season, with mass gatherings, festivals and parties, I am [concerning / concerned] that transmission could [accelerate / speedy] ".
Monkeypox is rarely [fatal / fatality] . Most of the cases reported [thus / this] far have been fairly mild. Symptoms of the disease include [chillies / chills] , fever, muscle aches, exhaustion and a nasty rash [in / on] the hands and face. It usually clears up two to four weeks after contracting it. Monkeypox was first detected in [laboratory / lavatory] monkeys in 1958. It is thought to transmit from wild animals such [was / as] rodents to people. It can also spread from person to person. The virus is related [to / at] the smallpox virus, for which there are vaccines. Scientists say a smallpox vaccine is 85 per cent [defective / effective] against the monkeypox virus. Despite this reassuring [fig / figure] , virologists around the globe are on high alert and are tracking the spread [on / of] cases.
