Portugal is the ninth country in the world with the most accumulated cases of monkeypox, as reported on Tuesday by the World Health Organization (WHO), which warns that reported infections have increased by 48% in the last week worldwide. .
As of July 22, the ten countries that have registered the highest cumulative number of cases worldwide are Spain (3,125), the United States of America (2,316), Germany (2,268), the United Kingdom (2,137), France (1,453) , the Netherlands (712), Canada (615), Brazil (592), Portugal (588) and Italy (374)”, says the WHO epidemiological update on monkeypox.
According to the organization, these ten countries collectively represent 89% of cases reported globally till the date.
In a statement released, the WHO director for Europe said that, since May 13, around 12,000 probable or confirmed cases have been reported in European countries and territories. 8% of which resulted in hospitalizationand no deaths were recorded as a result of these infections.
Globally, the number of new cases reported weekly increased by 48% in the week of July 18-24 compared to the previous week, totaling 16,016 monkeypox virus infections in 75 countries and five deaths this year.
According to Hans Kluge, after the WHO declared the outbreak an international public health emergency, countries, whether they have detected cases or not, must “act now urgently, taking every opportunity to anticipate, control and prevent the spread of a illness”. from which the organization itself recognizes that it still has a lot to learn.
While we acknowledge the uncertainties about how this outbreak will evolve, we must respond to the epidemiology before us by focusing on the most dominant mode of transmission (skin-to-skin contact during sexual encounters) and the groups most at risk of infection.” said the European WHO official.
The WHO on Saturday declared the monkeypox outbreak a public health emergency of international concern, the highest level of alert.
WHO declares monkeypox a global public health emergency
We have an outbreak that is rapidly spreading around the world, through new modes of transmission, about which we know very little and which meets the criteria of international health standards,” said WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom. Ghebreyesus, at a press conference, after the meeting of the Emergency Committee that evaluated the evolution of the disease in the world.
On the same day, the General Directorate of Health (DGS) reported that Portugal has already adopted the fundamental measures to reply to Monkeypox.
“It does not imply much more than what is being done. All measures have been taken, even without this declaration” of a public health emergency of international importance decided today by the World Health Organization (WHO), the DGS spokeswoman for the outbreak in Portugal told Lusa.
Although Portugal is one of the countries in the world most affected by monkeypox, in terms of the number of diagnosed cases, “you can’t say we’re experiencing exponential growth or anything like that.“, said Dr. Margarida Tavares.
What we have seen is a constant weekly number and even with a slightly decreasing trend, “said Margarida Tavares, who is also director of the National Program of Sexually Transmitted Infections and HIV Infection of the DGS.
Source: Observadora
