There are encouraging signs that the number of new cases in many European countries, including France, Germany, Portugal, Spain and the UK, is declining week by week, the WHO said on Tuesday. There has also been a decline in some parts of the United States despite scarce vaccine supplies.
But efforts need to be stepped up
“We believe we can eliminate the ongoing human-to-human transmission of monkeypox in the (European) Region,” said WHO Regional Director for Europe Hans Kluge. “To get closer to elimination, we urgently need to step up our efforts.”
Earlier detection of the infection, leading patients to isolate earlier, and behavioral changes are arguably the most important factors in the slowdown, said Catherine Smallwood, head of the Monkeypox Unit at the WHO Regional Office for Europe. There is evidence that people – especially men who have sex with men and belong to certain risk groups – are well informed about the disease.
Since early May, more than 47,600 confirmed cases have been reported in 90 countries where monkeypox is not endemic. The WHO declared the outbreak of the disease a global health emergency in July and thus declared the highest alert level. In Austria there were a total of 253 cases by the end of last week, 81 of whom have already recovered, according to the website of the Agency for Health and Food Safety (AGES).
Source: Nachrichten
