World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus called for equitable access to measures to counter the spread of Monkeypox.
During a meeting this Wednesday, the official emphasized the importance of vaccine availability, antivirals, and the systematic collection of clinical data to inform future recommendations.
“I am concerned about sustained transmission because it would suggest that the virus is establishing itself and it could move into high-risk groups, including children, the immunocompromised, and pregnant women,” said the WHO director-general.
He added that the WHO “are starting to see this with several children already infected.”
WHO’s Emergencies Director Michael Ryan said that countries with stockpiles of vaccines, led by the United States, have shown willingness to share them.
“It’s really important that we encourage the sharing of these products and that we also collect the necessary clinical efficiency data,” said Ryan.
According to WHO, the vast majority of Monkeypox cases so far have been observed in young men who had sexual intercourse with other men, mainly in urban areas, in what he reported as “clustered social and sexual networks.”
Currently, vaccines are in short supply and are highly limited to health workers, exposed to higher transmission risk from contact cases, according to the WHO official.
Ryan stated that some countries were beginning to consider offering vaccines to individuals “engaged in high-risk activities or who are at particular risk of being exposed” to the virus.
Experts detected a rise in Monkeypox cases outside West and Central African countries last May.
Since then, new cases have been emerging across western Europe, with two cases detected in minors in Britain.
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