The cases of monkey pox worldwide increased by 20% in one week, reaching 35,000 in 92 countries and territories, with 12 deaths recorded. The data were released this Wednesday (17) by the World Health Organization (WHO).
In a weekly press conference, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom said that nearly 7,500 cases were reported to the organization last week, an increase of 20% on the previous week, which was also 20% more than the week before. previous.
“Almost all cases are being reported in Europe and the Americas, and nearly all cases continue to be reported among men who have sex with men, underscoring the importance of all countries designing and providing services and information tailored to these communities that protect the health, rights and dignity,” Adhanom said.
The director-general of the WHO urged managers and health authorities to increase efforts to identify the disease and stop transmission.
“The primary focus for all countries should be on ensuring they are monkeypox-ready and interrupting transmission using effective public health tools, including enhanced disease surveillance, careful contact tracing, personalized risk communication and community engagement and prevention measures. risk reduction,” he said.
According to the WHO, vaccines can also play an important role in controlling the outbreak, despite the limited stock of doses at the moment.
“WHO has been in close contact with vaccine manufacturers and with countries and organizations that want to share doses. We remain concerned that the unequal access to vaccines that we have seen during the Covid-19 pandemic will be repeated and that the poorest will continue to be left behind,” Adhanom said.
Changes in disease nomenclature
Last week, a group of global experts convened by the WHO reached consensus on the use of new names for variants of the Monkeypox virus, which causes monkeypox. The experts agreed to name the clades, or viral groups, using Roman numerals.
Adhanom told the press on Wednesday that work to rename the disease and the virus is underway.
To decide on the nomenclature of the condition, WHO carries out a open querywhich receives suggestions online.
Source: CNN Brasil
