According to WHO data released on Wednesday, more than 50,000 cases of monkeypox have been reported worldwide, however the virus’ spread in Europe and the US is slowing.
50,496 cases and 16 fatalities were recorded to the World Health Organization this year, and the outbreak was deemed a global public health emergency in July.
WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the declines in new infections demonstrated the outbreak could be ended.
It is good to see a sustained decreased trend in Canada, but numerous nations in the Americas, which account for more than half of reported cases, continue to see rising numbers of infections, he said at a press conference.
“The outbreak is clearly slowing down in certain European nations, like as Germany and the Netherlands, proving the value of community participation and public health efforts in identifying illnesses and halting transmission.
These indications support what we have been saying since the beginning: that this is an outbreak that can be prevented with the appropriate steps.
Since early May, there has been an increase in monkeypox infections among men who have sex with men outside of the African nations where it has long been endemic.
Three things are required for the eradication of monkeypox, according to Tedros: the proof that it is achievable, which is now emerging; political will and commitment; and the implementation of public health interventions in the populations that most urgently require them.
The United States (17,994), Spain (6,543), Brazil (4,693), France (3,547), Germany (3,467), Britain (3,413), Peru (1,463), Canada (1,228), and the Netherlands are the nations that have reported more than a thousand cases to the WHO overall (1,160).
Health officials’ data suggests that there has recently been a minor slowdown in the number of new infections in the US.
In the meantime, the head of WHO Europe stated on Tuesday that there were “encouraging” signals that the outbreak was slowing down and moving “in the correct direction” on the continent.
Large boil-like skin sores, fever, and muscle aches are all symptoms of the illness.
The WHO has received reports of four deaths in Nigeria, three in Ghana, two each from Spain and the Central African Republic, and one each from Brazil, Belgium, Ecuador, India, and Cuba.
Physical contact of any type with a person who has the virus puts them at danger of contracting it as well, according to Rosamund Lewis, technical lead for monkeypox at the WHO.
She stated at the press conference on Wednesday that “the most majority today are still among males who have sex with men, whether they be gay, bisexual, or otherwise have contact with other men who have monkeypox.”
Lewis emphasised that there has been no evidence to yet of monkeypox spreading via blood transfusions.
“There have undoubtedly been reports of the monkeypox virus’ DNA being found in semen. She cautioned that additional research were still in progress and noted that one study had demonstrated how the virus could be isolated from that samples.
