With monkeypox infections in Europe tripling in two weeks, the World Health Organization has urged European countries to take action.
Countries in the region should intensify their efforts in the coming weeks and months to prevent monkeypox from “establishing itself in a larger geographic area,” WHO regional director Hans Kluge said today.
More than 4,500 cases in Europe
More than 4,500 cases of monkeypox have now been reported from Europe, which is 90 percent of all cases recorded worldwide since mid-May. Monkeypox is a less dangerous type of smallpox, which was eradicated about 40 years ago and is most commonly found in West and Central Africa.
But since May, monkeypox has also spread to other countries, especially in Western Europe. So far this year, more than 3,200 cases of monkeypox have been reported in more than 50 countries, according to the World Health Organization.
The number of cases in Austria almost doubled
The number of confirmed cases of monkeypox in Austria has nearly doubled since last week, albeit still at a low level. More than half of the cases have so far occurred in Vienna.
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