Last week, the WHO reported a 21 percent drop in new cases worldwide. (Representative)
Copenhagen:
The World Health Organization said on Tuesday it saw “encouraging” signs that the monkeypox epidemic in Europe was slowing and moving “in the right direction”, calling on countries to redouble efforts.
“There are encouraging early signs in France, Germany, Portugal, Spain, the UK and other countries, that the outbreak may be slowing down,” Hans Kluge, the WHO’s regional director for Europe, told reporters.
“It’s going in the right direction”, he said.
However, “to move towards eradication in our region, we need to intensify our efforts urgently”.
Of the 53 countries that make up the WHO Europe region, which includes Russia and countries in Central Asia, more than 22,000 monkeypox cases have been reported in 43 countries, accounting for more than a third of cases worldwide.
Last week, the WHO reported a 21 percent drop in new cases worldwide after four consecutive weeks of increase.
To eliminate the spread of the virus in Europe, WHO urged countries to continue measures such as surveillance, targeted vaccination, identification of contact cases, and engaging with the male homosexual community, where the virus primarily spread. Used to be.
Cluj cited the example of Portugal, which, “in the absence of a full immunization campaign, managed to halt the escalation through behavior change and engagement with communities”.
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