The monkeypox epidemic in Europe has slowed, according to Hans Kluge, regional director for Europe at the World Health Organization (WHO) on Tuesday. If the fight against the disease is intensified, the transmission and circulation of the virus responsible for the disease can be controlled and even eliminated.
“There is encouraging evidence that the epidemic is slowing mainly in France, Germany, Portugal, Spain, the United Kingdom and other countries,” Kluge said at a news conference.
“We believe it is possible to eradicate human-to-human transmission of monkeypox in Europe,” he assured, warning that for this it was necessary to “immediately increase our efforts” and devote necessary resources to the fight against the spread of the virus. .
To achieve this goal, the WHO regional office for Europe published a set of recommendations last week on combating the epidemic. The organization insists on surveillance and isolation of cases, identification of contacts, sensitization of the most exposed populations (mainly the male gay community and sex workers). These measures complement targeted preventive vaccination campaigns.
According to the World Health Organization, approaches need to be simultaneous to ensure the effectiveness of combating the virus, “because none alone will eradicate the disease.”
Insulation and information
According to Catherine Smallwood, one of those responsible for managing the macaque smallpox epidemic at the WHO Europe office, the recent decline in contamination in several European countries can be explained by early detection and isolation of patients and changes in patients’ behaviour. most exposed population. , Thanks for information.
Different levels of action are needed as the world’s stock of vaccines is still limited and the immunizers used are for common smallpox.
The safety of the vaccine has been proven and its efficacy in preventing monkeypox virus infection is not known with certainty, but may be greater than 85%.
More than 47,750 cases have been detected in nearly 100 countries, according to WHO, which declared that the monkeypox epidemic that started in May in mid-July constituted a “comprehensive international public health emergency.”
Only a few African countries have the disease in an endemic form. The WHO European region, which covers 53 countries, including Russia and some countries in Asia, has 22,000 confirmed cases spread across 43 countries and territories.
(with information from AFP)
source: Noticias
