WHO-Monkeypox cases confirmed in 8 African countries, WHO calls the meeting to assess global threat | Health Gather

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Health Gather-Next Monday, the World Health Organization (WHO) will hold an emergency conference to evaluate whether monkeypox has become a global crisis.

The gathering will take place at a time when eight African countries, two of which had never seen monkeypox before, have reported cases, bringing the total number of cases worldwide to 1,900.

"There are now a total of 1 900 confirmed cases in 39 countries across the globe, including eight African countries. Of those countries in Africa, monkeypox cases have been previously reported in six," said Dr Matshidiso Moeti, the WHO Regional Director for Africa, at a virtual press briefing.

Nigeria has the most confirmed cases, whereas Morocco just has one confirmed case.

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"There have been 36 cases in Nigeria, 10 in the Democratic Republic of Congo [DRC], eight in the Central African Republic [CAR], three each in Benin and Cameroon, two in the Republic of the Congo (Brazzaville), Ghana and Morocco which have not previously reported cases of monkeypox now have five and one cases confirmed," she said.

According to Moeti, suspicious cases were found in Ethiopia, Guinea, Liberia, Mozambique, Sierra Leone, Sudan, and Uganda.

She said more needs to be done to avoid a situation like the Covid-19 pandemic epidemic, in which Africa was caught off guard.

"This is clearly an unusual situation which is affecting more and more countries. We cannot afford any potential repeat, and we need to be adequately prepared. So WHO is convening an Emergency Committee on monkeypox next Thursday, 23 June," she said.

The committee will assess if the monkeypox outbreak was a public health emergency of international concern.

Moeti said, so far, countries in Africa had been urged to do more tests for monkeypox.

"As WHO in Africa, we are already ramping up support to countries to urgently increase testing capacity for monkeypox, and we are in the process of procuring thousands of tests [kits] for the continent," she added.

Bavarian Nordic on Monday announced that it would supply 110 000 doses of its MVA-BN smallpox/monkeypox vaccine to the European Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Authority (HERA) over the coming months.

While there's going to be a rollout in Europe, Moeti said, "...although we are not recommending mass vaccination at this stage, we must ensure we are ready if the need arises. Global stocks are extremely limited at this stage, but we are working with member states and partners on a coordination mechanism to ensure fair access". 

Tick-Borne Diseases Nearly half of lab-tested ticks carry Lyme disease this summer | Health Gather

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Health Gather-Tick encephalitis was not found in any of the ticks tested in the Latvian Infectology Centre (LIC) laboratory as of June 16. According to Latvian Television, over half of the ticks tested were infected with borreliosis, which can cause Lyme disease.