Mpox

Experts warn that it is only a matter of time before more cases of the new contagious variant of monkeypox (mpox Clade Ib) are identified in Europe. This follows the first imported case reported in Sweden a week ago.

In response to the outbreak of Monkeypox (Mpox) in African countries, European Union Health and Food Safety Commissioner Stella Kyriakides has addressed the bloc's health ministers about plans to donate vaccines and therapeutics to deal with the disease.

In a post on social media, the EU official stressed the need for coordination and cooperation.

Six cases of West Nile virus have been reported in Türkiye this year, the Health Ministry has announced, issuing a warning.

"Since 2010, West Nile virus infections have been observed in our country, and in 2024, it has been detected in six individuals. The monitoring and treatment of our patients are ongoing," the ministry said in a written statement on Aug. 22.

Ankara's local health authorities have refuted claims that two hospitals in the capital have initiated Türkiye's first mpox quarantine.

The private broadcaster Sözcü TV reported that an individual brought to Ankara Etlik City Hospital was quarantined under suspicion of mpox.

Vials of single doses of the Jynneos vaccine for monkeypox are seen from a cooler at a vaccinations site on Aug. 29, 2022, in the Brooklyn borough of New York. African health officials said mpox cases have spiked by 160% in the last year, warning the risk of further spread is high given the lack of effective treatments or vaccines on the continent

Dr. Hans Henri P. Kluge, WHO Regional Director for Europe, addressed the ongoing mpox situation at the UN Geneva Palais Briefing on August 20, 2024. He highlighted three main points regarding the global response to the virus.

The World Health Organization (WHO) emphasized on Tuesday that the mpox outbreak is not comparable to the Covid-19 pandemic, as the virus is well-understood and there are existing methods to control it.

The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is experiencing a sharp rise in mpox cases and deaths as it awaits vaccine shipments from the United States and Japan, the country's health minister reported on Monday.

The Philippines on Monday reported its first case of mpox this year, but the health department was still determining whether it was the new and dangerous variant sparking global alarm.

A deadly and more transmissible strain of the virus known as Clade 1b has killed hundreds of people in the Democratic Republic of Congo and been detected in Sweden and Pakistan in recent days.

Türkiye's Health Ministry has released a comprehensive 24-page guide on mpox, which has recently surged in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo and has become a global threat.

The guide includes contributions from various experts and aims to educate the public and health professionals on the nature of the disease, its transmission routes and preventive measures.