The World Health Organization exhorted Europe to take urgent action against the rapid spread of the monkeypox

The World Health Organization (WHO) asked Europe to take “urgent” action against the rapid spread of monkeypox after the number of cases tripled on Friday, July 1, 2022. WHO Regional Direction for Europe, Hans Kluge said, “Today, I am intensifying my call for government and civil society to scale up efforts in the coming week and months to prevent monkeypox from establishing itself across a growing geographical area.” He further stated, “Urgent and Coordinated action is imperative if we are to turn a corner in the race to reverse the ongoing spread of this disease.”

According to the WHO, almost 31 countries now in Europe has been identifiable monkeypox cases. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has recognized more than 5,000 cases in 51 countries worldwide among which 90% of cases were from Europe.

Mr. Kluge also added that most of these cases are observed in men especially men who involves sexually with other men and a small number of these cases spread in households making the children vulnerable. Pregnant women and children are observed to be more susceptible to the virus developing severe infection.

However, monkeypox is not declared a global health emergency right at this moment and the WHO has urged European nations to develop strong surveillance to track the outbreak by raising the capacity of rapid genetic sequencing.

The European Medicines Agency (EMA) has already started researching ways to create effective monkeypox vaccines. Although, Germany and the UK have already started developing vaccines for the virus.