Displaying items by tag: World Health Organisation

WHO has declared monkeypox a global health emergency. The first case was in a child in 1970. Since then, outbreaks were small and traceable to an individual returning from a country with monkeypox. But the current outbreak is different, with sustained person-to-person transmission of infection. By 22 July there were 16,593 confirmed infections in 68 countries (none having had monkeypox before). Most infections are in Europe. The majority of infections are in men who have sex with men, especially those with multiple partners. There are concerns of under-reporting of cases in some countries. On 28 July the US federal government allocated 786,000 vaccine doses to local authorities after the Food and Drug Administration cleared them for use by people aged 18 and older who are at high risk. See There is limited supply of the two-dose Jynneos vaccine, and infections could become endemic or be introduced into at-risk groups such as children, the elderly, and pregnant women.