The World Health Organization’s (WHO) head for Europe warned Friday that cases of monkeypox in the region had tripled in the past two weeks. He urged countries to do more to ensure the previously rare disease weighs on the continent.
African health authorities have said they are treating the widespread monkeypox outbreak as an emergency, calling on rich countries to share limited vaccine supplies to avoid the problem of gaps in access to vaccines seen during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Head of WHO Europe Dr. Hans Kluge said in a statement that increased efforts were needed despite the UN health agency ruling last week that the escalating outbreak could not yet be declared a global health emergency.
To date, more than 5,000 cases of monkeypox have been reported from 51 countries that do not normally report the disease, according to the American Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. According to Kluge, the number of infections in Europe represents about 90% of the global total, with 31 countries within the WHO Europe region having identified cases.[ka/pp]
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