Monkeypox outbreak in Europe not yet public health emergency: EMA

The current monkeypox outbreak in Europe, according to the European Medicines Agency (EMA), is “not a public health emergency” at this time.

The danger of the general public contracting the disease is minimal, according to Marco Cavaleri, the EMA’s director of biological health threats and vaccines strategy, and no significant rise in cases is expected, even if an increase in instances is predicted.

“The focus should remain on the identification, monitoring and management of new cases (of monkeypox),” Xinhua quoted Cavaleri as saying.

Cavaleri said the monkeypox outbreak is “unusual, including the large geographical spread,” but “most patients had mild symptoms and recovered without needing treatments.”

The EMA is acting out of precaution to ensure options for prevention and treatment if needed, he said.

On Wednesday, the head of the World Health Organization (WHO) said thirty non-endemic countries have reported more than 550 confirmed cases of monkeypox.

Also Read: More than 550 confirmed monkeypox cases reported: United Nations

“Investigations are ongoing, but the sudden appearance of monkeypox in many countries at the same time suggests there may have been undetected transmission for some time,” Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told journalists at WHO’s Geneva headquarters.

With most reported cases having been among sexual encounters between men, those communities are working to inform their members of risks and preventative action that can be taken.

“But all of us must work hard to fight stigma, which is not just wrong, it could also prevent infected individuals from seeking care, making it harder to stop transmission,” warned the WHO chief, urging affected countries to widen their surveillance to the broader community.

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