Smallpox of monkeys in Italy and Europe
The United States has declared monkeypox a public health emergency.
Turn on notifications to receive updates on
Smallpox of monkeys in Italy and Europe
The United States they stated the monkeypox a public health emergency. This was announced by Xavier Becerra, Secretary of Health and Human Services within the Biden administration who explained at a press conference that the disease has been spreading in the United States since May and that cases are increasing worldwide: ” We urge every American to take monkeypox seriously, ”explained the member of the US Democratic Party.
The Biden administration’s decision comes after a statement by WHO, the World Health Organization, which in late July spoke of monkeypox as a a public health emergency of international concern. Previously several states, including New York and California, had declared monkeypox a health emergency. At the moment in the United States, over 6,600 people have tested positive for monkeypox, so the vaccine is already present even if in still limited doses. Declaring a state of emergency could speed up access to existing care for all US citizens.
The WHO also spoke about therapies and vaccines, given the growing concern also in Europe where cases continue to increase. However, according to WHO European office director Hans Kluge, the vaccine alone cannot stop the monkeypox epidemic. “We ask, for the moment, to take measures to reduce this risk”, for example “limiting sexual partners and interactions”. Although cases of domestic transmission are beginning to be observed, “we need to respond by focusing on the dominant mode of transmission (skin-to-skin contact during sexual encounters) and the highest-risk groups,” Kluge said.
How many cases of monkeypox are there in Italy and what close contacts of positives must do
EU Commissioner for Health Stella Kyriakides underlined in a tweet that Brussels will step up support to member states “to tackle the problem of monkeypox. Vaccinations, therapies, surveillance, contact tracing and clear public communication will be the our tools to deal with this worrying situation “.
With regard to Italy instead at the moment i confirmed cases, with data updated to August 2, are 505. Numbers that according to the general director of health prevention of the Ministry of Health should not cause particular alarmism. Most of the cases are recorded in Lombardy where there are 232, followed by Lazio (104), Emilia Romagna (57), Veneto (33), Piedmont (18) and Tuscany (17). There are 5 regions that have not yet reported cases: Basilicata, Calabria, Molise, Umbria and Valle d’Aosta while the remaining 7, (including the autonomous provinces of Bolzano and Trento), count less than 10 cases.