“Nearly 14,000 confirmed cases of #monkeypox have been reported to WHO this year from over 70 countries and territories. So far 5 deaths have been reported, all in Africa. @WHO will continue to do everything possible to support countries to stop transmission and save lives,” Tedros said in a tweet.
Tedros also said that while some countries have seen a decrease in cases, many are witnessing an increase, with about six countries reporting their first cases of monkeypox last week.
“Most cases are still reported from Europe, mainly among men who have sex with men,” he said.
The WHO director added that the outbreak is harder to track and stop because many countries reporting cases have less access to diagnostics and vaccines.
Ghebreyesus also said the organization is validating, procuring and delivering tests to several countries and will continue to provide support for the wider availability of effective diagnostics.
Information is one of the most effective tools against the epidemic, he said, adding that more information allows risk groups to better protect themselves.
“WHO will continue to work with patients and community advocates to develop and deliver information that is tailored to affected communities and more likely to be adopted and implemented,” Tedros said.
The monkeypox virus is transmitted from infected animals to humans through indirect or direct contact. Person-to-person transmission can occur through direct contact with infected skin or lesions, including face-to-face, skin-to-skin, and respiratory droplets.
In current outbreak countries and among reported monkeypox cases, transmission appears to occur primarily through close physical contact, including sexual contact. Infection can also occur from contaminated materials, such as bed linen, bedding, electronics, clothing with infectious skin particles.
In many countries, the initial cases detected in different WHO regions had no epidemiological links to regions with historical reports of monkeypox, suggesting that undetected transmission may have persisted in these countries for some time.
The majority of confirmed cases of monkeypox are men, and the majority of these cases occur among gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men in urban areas and are clustered in social and sexual networks.
Source: ANI
Source: The Nordic Page