WHO warns of calmness in monkeypox
In many places, the number of monkeypox infections seems to be declining. However, the WHO warns of a lack of vaccines and tests in Africa.
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the essentials in brief
- In many places, monkeypox outbreaks have shrunk significantly.
- In Africa in particular, however, there is a lack of tests and vaccinations.
- Due to the high number of unreported cases, more dangerous variants could spread unnoticed.
The outbreaks that have surfaced in many countries over the past year appear to be under control. The number of monkeypox infections has fallen significantly worldwide.
The World Health Organization (WHO) in Geneva, however, warns of a lack of tests and vaccines. In Africa in particular, there was a lack of sufficient material.
A false composure can to the global threat “We could have a virus variant in three years that is much less easy to contain – that’s a real risk,” said Rosamund Lewis, WHO monkeypox expert at the German Press Agency.
Doctors and clinics would have to also monkeypox consider as a diagnosis. Especially when people come with a fever or rash, she demanded. on HIV and sexually transmitted disease clinics should routinely test for monkeypox.
Monkeypox infection probably often goes unreported
Above all, rapid tests and more vaccines would have to be developed in order to discover and contain new outbreaks worldwide as quickly as possible. By the beginning of January, the WHO had registered almost 84,000 confirmed cases and 75 deaths worldwide. A multiple of the infections are believed to have gone unreported. The number of new infections reported weekly has fallen by a good 90 percent since July.
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