“As of July 22, the ten countries with the highest cumulative number of cases worldwide are: Spain (3,125), United States of America (2,316), Germany (2,268) , the UK (2,137), France (1,453), Netherlands (712), Canada (615), Brazil (592), Portugal (588) and Italy (374),” according to the update. WHO Epidemiology Report on Monkeypox.
According to the organization, these ten countries together account for 89% of the cases recorded in the world to date.
In a statement released today, the WHO director for Europe said around 12,000 probable or confirmed cases have been reported in European countries and territories since May 13, 8% of which have resulted in hospitalization , without death. these infections.
Globally, the number of new cases reported each week during the week of July 18-24 increased by 48% from the previous week, totaling 16,016 Monkeypox virus infections in 75 countries and five deaths This year.
According to Hans Kluge, following the WHO declared the outbreak an international public health emergency, countries “must act urgently now and seize every opportunity to anticipate, control and prevent the spread of a disease”, qu whether they are discovered cases or not. which the organization itself recognizes it still has a lot to learn.
“While we recognize the uncertainties regarding how this epidemic will develop, we must respond to the epidemiology to come by focusing on the most dominant mode of transmission – skin-to-skin contact during sexual intercourse – and the groups those most affected are at risk of infection, ”said the European head of the WHO.
The WHO on Saturday declared the Monkeypox outbreak a public health emergency of international concern, the highest alert level.
“We have an epidemic that is spreading rapidly around the world, via new modes of transmission, which we know very little regarding and which meet the criteria of international health regulations,” said WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. . , following the meeting of the Emergency Committee which assessed the evolution of the disease in the world.
On the same day, the Directorate General for Health (DGS) declared that Portugal had already taken the fundamental measures to respond to Monkeypox.
“It’s not much more than what is done. All measures have been taken, even without this declaration “of public health emergency of international concern decided today by the World Health Organization (WHO), the spokeswoman for the DGS told Lusa. epidemic in Portugal.
Although Portugal is one of the countries in the world most affected by Monkeypox, in terms of the number of cases diagnosed, it cannot be said that we are experiencing exponential growth or anything like that, said Dr Margarida Tavares .
“What we have seen is a constant number of weeks and even a slightly downward trend,” underlines Margarida Tavares, also director of the National Program for Sexually Transmitted Infections and HIV Infection at the DGS.