愛污传媒

Skip to main content

WHO: Monkeypox cases drop 21 per cent, reversing month-long increase

Share
GENEVA -

The number of monkeypox cases reported globally dropped by 21% in the last week, reversing a month-long trend of rising infections and a possible signal the outbreak in Europe may be starting to decline, according to a World Health Organization report issued Thursday.

The UN health agency reported 5,907 new weekly cases and said two countries, Iran and Indonesia, reported their first cases. To date, more than 45,000 cases have been reported in 98 countries since late April.

Cases in the Americas accounted for 60% of cases in the past month, WHO said, while cases in Europe comprised about 38%. It said infections in the Americas showed "a continuing steep rise."

The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention said Thursday the continent had 219 new cases reported in the past week, a jump of 54%. Most were in Nigeria and Congo, the agency said.

In early July, just weeks before the agency declared the international spread of the disease to be a global emergency, WHO's Europe director said countries in the region were responsible for 90% of all laboratory confirmed cases of monkeypox.

British health authorities said last week after seeing a decline in the number of new cases getting reported daily that there were "early signs" the country's monkeypox outbreak was slowing.

The U.K.'s Health Security Agency downgraded the country's monkeypox outbreak last month, saying there was no evidence the once rare disease was spreading beyond men who were gay, bisexual or had sex with other men.

Since monkeypox outbreaks in Europe and North America were identified in May, WHO and other health agencies have noted that its spread was almost exclusively in men who have sex with men.

Monkeypox has been endemic in parts of Africa for decades and experts suspect the outbreaks in Europe and North America were triggered after the disease started spreading via sex at two raves in Spain and Belgium.

WHO's latest report said 98% of cases are in men and of those who reported sexual orientation, 96% are in men who have sex with men.

"Of all reported types of transmission, a sexual encounter was reported most commonly," WHO said. "The majority of cases were likely exposed in a party with sexual contacts," the agency said.

Among the monkeypox cases in which the HIV status of patients was known, 45% were infected with HIV.

WHO has recommended that men at high risk of the disease temporarily consider reducing their number of sex partners or refrain from group or anonymous sex.

Monkeypox typically requires skin-to-skin or skin-to-mouth contact with an infected patient's lesions to spread. People can also become infected through contact with the clothing or bedsheets of someone who has monkeypox lesions.

With globally limited vaccine supplies, authorities in the U.S., Europe and the U.K. have all begun rationing doses to stretch supplies by up to five times.

WHO has advised countries that have vaccines to prioritize immunization for those at high risk of the disease, including gay and bisexual men with multiple sex partners, and for health workers, laboratory staff and outbreak responders.

While Africa has reported the most suspected deaths from monkeypox, the continent has no vaccine supplies apart from a very small stock being tested in a research study in Congo.

"As we know, the situation with monkeypox vaccine access is very topical, but there are not enough doses of vaccines," Nigeria Center for Disease Control Director-General Ifedayo Adetifa said this week. Potentially, a lot more more doses will become available, but because of challenges with manufacturing factories and unexpected uptick in monkeypox cases, the vaccine may actually not be available until 2023."

------

Chinedu Asadu in Abuja, Nigeria, contributed reporting.

CTVNews.ca Top Stories

A driver suffered only minor injuries after going airborne in a residential neighbourhood in Maple Ridge, B.C., on Friday, the car eventually landing on its roof in someone鈥檚 backyard.

The owners of a North York condominium say they are facing a $70,000 special assessment to fix their building's parking garage. '$70,000 is a lot of money. It makes me very nervous and stressed out of nowhere for this huge debt to come in,' said Ligeng Guo.

Police released the identities of the mother and daughter who were killed after a fire tore through a 160-year-old building in Old Montreal on Friday.

The sentencing of the man who pleaded guilty in the deadly hit-and-run in Kitsilano two years ago began on Friday.

Local Spotlight

Chantal Kreviazuk is set to return to Winnipeg to mark a major milestone in her illustrious musical career.

From the beaches of Cannes to the bustling streets of New York City, a new film by a trio of Manitoba directors has toured the international film festival circuit to much pomp and circumstance.

A husband and wife have been on the road trip of a lifetime and have decided to stop in Saskatchewan for the winter.

The grave of a previously unknown Canadian soldier has been identified as a man from Hayfield, Man. who fought in the First World War.

A group of classic car enthusiasts donated hundreds of blankets to nursing homes in Nova Scotia.

Moving into the second week of October, the eastern half of Canada can expect some brisker fall air to break down from the north

What does New Westminster's t蓹m蓹sew虛tx史 Aquatic and Community Centre have in common with a historic 68,000-seat stadium in Beijing, an NFL stadium and the aquatics venue for the Paris Olympics? They've all been named among the world's most beautiful sports venues for 2024.

The last living member of the legendary Vancouver Asahi baseball team, Kaye Kaminishi, died on Saturday, Sept. 28, surrounded by family. He was 102 years old.

New data from Greater Vancouver and the Fraser Valley shows a surge in supply and drop in demand in the region's historically hot real estate market.