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GENEVA — The World Health Organization’s senior official in Europe on Wednesday called for urgent action by authorities and civic groups to control the rapidly increasing cases of monkeypox, which he said poses a real risk to public health.
WHO’s European region director, Dr. Hans Kluge said Europe has emerged as the epicenter of a monkeypox epidemic, with more than 1,500 cases detected in 25 European countries accounting for 85 percent of global cases. a press conference.
Dr. Kluge added an official statement calling for a coordinated response between countries to determine whether the outbreak constitutes a public health emergency of international concern, convening the WHO’s emergency committee in Geneva next week.
Dr. “The magnitude of this epidemic poses a real risk,” said Kluge. “The longer the virus remains in circulation, the more it will expand its reach and the stronger the disease will be in non-endemic countries where it has landed.”
Monkeypox is an endemic viral infection in West Africa, but WHO director Dr. It has spread to 39 countries, including 32 with no previous experience, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told reporters on Tuesday. Countries that have detected cases of monkeypox outside of Africa and Europe include Australia, Brazil, Canada, Israel and the United States.
Andrea Ammon, director of the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control, said the infections are mostly caused by close physical contact and mainly affect men who have sex with men, but can also be spread through respiratory droplets during prolonged face-to-face contact. Press conference on Wednesday. Cases of monkeypox have also been found among close family members, but the risks of transmission among the general population, Dr. “Pretty low,” Ammon said.
Saying that Monkeypox is not tied to a single social group, Dr. Kluge warned that the stigma of the virus as a gay disease would undermine efforts to develop an effective public health response, such as the fight against HIV and AIDS.
WHO has recorded 27 deaths from the disease in Africa this year, but none in Europe. Infections are mostly mild and do not require hospitalization, but people who have been in close contact with infected people also need to be isolated for 21 days.
Dr. Kluge reiterated his fears that the spread of monkeypox could accelerate during the summer months when hundreds of Pride Parades, music festivals and other mass gatherings are held across Europe, but said monkeypox is no reason to cancel events. He said the meetings provided a valuable opportunity to raise awareness about the disease, and urged event organizers, local communities and dating apps to deliver clear messages on how to prevent or deal with the disease.
Dr. Kluge called for urgent action for European countries to increase surveillance, diagnostic testing and genetic sequencing, and to monitor contacts and sexual partners of infected people. WHO said it is issuing emergency funds to support laboratory capacity to identify monkeypox virus in countries where monkeypox virus is not available.
What You Should Know About Monkeypox Virus
What is monkey flower? monkey disease A virus endemic to parts of Central and West Africa. It is similar to smallpox, but less severe. It was discovered in 1958 after outbreaks occurred in monkeys hired for research, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
However, Dr. Kluge told Dr. Echoing Tedros’ comments, he said mass vaccination is not recommended and underlined concerns that rich countries will repeat the mistakes of the Covid-19 pandemic and rapidly monopolize limited vaccine stocks.
Dr. Tedros said WHO is working with member states to develop an initiative that will ensure fairer access, but Dr. According to Kluge, “We’re already seeing a rush in some quarters to get these and stock up.”
Dr. Tedros said on Tuesday that WHO is working with experts to come up with another name as soon as possible for monkeypox and the disease it produces.
WHO spokesperson Christian Lindmeier said on Wednesday that the current name is “misleading and stigmatizing”. Preliminary research points to the possibility of human-to-human transmission undetected for several years, but the current name may encourage the false belief that humans are not susceptible to infection unless exposed through contact with animals from Africa or associated with it, he said. .
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