After weeks of accelerated growth of monkeypox cases across the globe, the epidemic might be slowing down, according to World Health Organization (WHO). Reportedly, the UN agency on Tuesday stated it saw ‘encouraging’ signs that the epidemic was receding in Europe.
“There are encouraging early signs, as evidenced in France, Germany, Portugal, Spain, the UK and other countries that the outbreak may be slowing,” said Hans Klug, WHO’s regional director for Europe.
However, to stop people from letting down their guard, Klug also advised that for complete elimination of the virus, more steps were required
“It’s going in the right direction. However, to move towards elimination in our region, we need to urgently step up our efforts.” he added.
As per WHO data, last week saw a steep decline of 21 per cent in the number of new cases reported across the globe. It was the first time that decline had been reported after four consecutive weeks of increase in caseload.
A total of 53 countries come under the WHO Europe region, which accounted for more than a third of cases worldwide.
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As reported by WION, it was last month that WHO, after its emergency committee meeting, declared the monkeypox outbreak a global health emergency.
The declaration meant that WHO designated the virus outbreak as a significant threat to global health that warranted an international response.
“We have an outbreak that has spread around the world rapidly, through new modes of transmission, about which we understand too little. For all of these reasons, I have decided that the global monkeypox outbreak represents a public health emergency of international concern.” WHO director-general Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus was quoted as saying at the time.
Read more | Monkeypox declared a global health emergency by WHO amid surge in cases
The symptoms of the virus include fever, headache, muscle ache, tiredness and swollen lymph nodes. First detected in May, the virus rapidly spread to Europe and the United States.
Although there is no specific treatment for the monkeypox virus, the health agencies have recommended antivirals such as tecovirimat to treat it.
(With inputs from agencies)
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