The number of newly confirmed monkeypox cases worldwide has declined for the first time in a month, with 5,907 infections registered last week – 21% fewer than a week earlier, announced the World Health Organisation (WHO) on Thursday.
The number of confirmed monkeypox infections in European countries has risen above the 20,000 mark, as the WHO and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) registered 21,098 positive tests; exactly one week ago, there were 19,429 cases.
"Last week, the number of weekly reported monkeypox cases fell by over 20% globally, although new cases increased in the Americas, where we are continuing to see intense transmission," said WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
While in the early stages of the monkeypox outbreak, most reported cases were in Europe with a smaller proportion in the US and Latin America, that trend has now reversed, said Dr Ghebreyesus, with less than 40% of reported cases in Europe and 60% in the Americas.
"There are signs that the monkeypox outbreak is slowing in Europe, where a combination of effective public health measures, behaviour change and vaccination are helping to prevent transmission," he added.
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The most positive tests have been registered in Spain, where nearly 6,300 have a confirmed monkeypox infection, followed by the United Kingdom and Germany (both over 3,300), France (almost 2,900) and the Netherlands (nearly 1,100). In Belgium, 671 confirmed cases were reported.
More than 500 people in Europe have been hospitalised with symptoms associated with infection; two people have died from monkeypox, said the WHO.
