More than 70,000 cases of monkeypox have been recorded since the start of the epidemic in May, the WHO announced on Wednesday, October 12, while calling for caution even if the number of new cases is falling.
WHO Director Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus announced that more than 70,000 cases and 26 deaths have been recorded this year with 42,000 cases recorded in the Americas region and almost 25,000 in Europe.
A rise in cases in 21 countries
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At the global level, the number of cases is falling, but last week 21 countries saw their number of cases increase, especially in the Americas region which accounts for nearly 90% of cases last week
," he said. clarified in a press conference in Geneva.
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A slowing epidemic can be a more dangerous epidemic, because we can think that the crisis is over and lower our caution
,” he added, confirming that the organization was working with countries to increase their monitoring capacities. the epidemic.
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We are worried about the number of cases in Sudan, especially in the refugee camps on the border with Ethiopia
,” he added.
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Like Covid-19, monkeypox remains a public health emergency of international concern (USPPI), and WHO will continue to treat it as such
.”
Since the start of the epidemic, 107 WHO member countries have recorded new cases, including 39 without new patients in the last 21 days.
The United States (26,723), Brazil (8,147), Spain (7,209), France (4,043), Great Britain (3,654), Germany (3,640), Peru (2,587), Colombia (2,453), Mexico (1,968) and Canada (1,400), are the 10 most affected countries in the world and account for 87% of cases.
Cases of monkeypox have risen sharply since early May, among men who have sex with men, outside of African countries where the disease has long been endemic.
According to data from the WHO dashboard, 97% of the cases were men with an average age of 35 and 49% were AIDS positive.
The disease causes fever,