LONDON: The World Health Organization’s Europe chief warned on Friday that cases of monkeypox in the region have tripled in the past two weeks and urged countries to do more to ensure that the rare disease from the earlier continent But don’t spread. On the other hand, African health officials said they were treating the growing monkeypox outbreak as an emergency, calling on wealthy countries to share limited supplies of vaccines to avoid equity problems seen during the COVID-19 pandemic. We do. Dr Hans Kluge, the head of WHO Europe, said in a statement that efforts were needed despite the UN health agency’s decision last week that the growing outbreak had not yet been declared a global health emergency.
Kluge said that immediate and coordinated action is imperative if we are to turn a corner in the race to reverse the ongoing spread of the disease.
So far, more than 5,000 monkeypox cases have been reported from 51 countries around the world that do not usually report the disease, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Kluge said the number of infections in Europe represented about 90% of the global total, with cases identified in 31 countries in the WHO’s European region.
Kluge said that the figures reported to the WHO show that 99% of the cases occurred in men? Most men who have sex with men. But were they now? small number? Number of cases among household contacts including children. Most people reported symptoms including rash, fever, fatigue, muscle aches, vomiting, and chills.
Scientists have warned that a person who is in close physical contact with a person suffering from monkeypox or their clothing or sheets are at risk of infection. Vulnerable populations such as children and pregnant women are more likely to suffer from serious illness.
About 10% of patients were hospitalized for treatment or in isolation, and one person was admitted to the intensive care unit. No death has been reported.
Kluge said the problem of stigma in some countries could make some people wary of seeking health care and added that the WHO is working with partners, including organizers of gay pride events.
In the UK, where there is the largest outbreak of monkeypox beyond Africa, officials have noted that the disease is spreading in defined sexual networks of men who are gay, bisexual or who have sex with men. British health officials said there were no signs suggesting continued transmission beyond those populations.
A key WHO advisor said in May that the spike in cases in Europe was likely linked to sexual activity by men at two rave parties in Spain and Belgium.
Ahead of gay pride events in Britain this weekend, London’s top public health doctor told people with symptoms of monkeypox, such as swollen glands or blisters, to stay at home.
Yet in Africa the WHO says that according to detailed data from Ghana, cases of monkeypox were almost equally divided between men and women, and no prevalence has been found among men who have sex with men.
Kluge, the director of WHO Europe, also said that the principles of equality should be applied in the procurement of vaccines.
The main vaccine being used against monkeypox was originally developed for smallpox and the European Medicines Agency said this week it began evaluating whether it should be authorized for monkeypox. The WHO has said that the supply of the vaccine made by Bavarian Nordic is extremely limited.
Countries including the UK and Germany have already started vaccinating people at high risk of monkeypox; The UK recently expanded its vaccination program to mostly gay and bisexual men who have multiple sex partners and are considered the most vulnerable.
As of May, monkeypox was not known to cause major outbreaks beyond parts of Central and West Africa, where it has been sickening people for decades, is endemic in many countries and causes mostly limited outbreaks when it is infected. Jumps to people of wild animals.
So far, there have been around 1,800 suspected monkeypox cases in Africa, including more than 70 deaths, but only 109 lab-confirmed. The lack of laboratory diagnosis and weak surveillance mean that many cases go undetected.
Ahmed Ogwell, acting director of the Africa Center for Disease Control, said that for us this particular outbreak means an emergency.
The WHO says monkeypox has spread to African countries where it has never been seen before, including South Africa, Ghana and Morocco. But according to Dr. Moeti Matshidiso, director of WHO Africa, more than 90% of the continent’s infections are in Congo and Nigeria.
Vaccines have never been used to prevent monkeypox outbreaks in Africa; The authorities have mostly relied on contact tracing and isolation.
The WHO noted that like the scramble for COVID-19 vaccines last year, countries supplying monkeypox vaccines are not yet sharing them with Africa.
Fiona Braca, head of the WHO’s emergency response team in Africa, said that we do not have any donations that have been given to (poor) countries. We know that countries that have some stock are mainly reserving them for their population.
Matshidiso said the WHO is in talks with manufacturers and stockpile countries to see if they can be shared.
We want to see the global spotlight on monkeypox as a catalyst to defeat the disease once and for all in Africa, he said on Thursday.