British health officials say the outbreak of monkeypox across the country is “showing signs of slowing down”, but it is still too early to tell if that decline will continue.
The Health Security Agency said in a statement on Monday that authorities were reporting 29 new cases of monkeypox every day, compared to about 52 cases a day during the past week in June. In July, officials estimated the outbreak double the size About every two weeks. So far, the UK has recorded more than 3,000 cases of monkeypox, with more than 70 per cent of cases in London.
The agency also said more than 27,000 people have been immunized with a vaccine designed against smallpox, an associated disease.
“These are thousands of vaccines, administered by [National Health Service] For those at high risk of infection, it should have a significant impact on transmission of the virus.”
She said the vast majority of cases were of gay, bisexual, or gay men or who had sex with other men, and that vaccinations are a priority for them, their closest acquaintances and health workers.
Last month, Britain lowered its assessment of the outbreak of monkeypox after noticing any signs of continued transmission of monkeypox beyond the sexual networks of men who have sex with men. 99 per cent of infections in the UK are in men.
British authorities said they had purchased 150,000 doses of vaccine from Bavaria Nordic, the world’s only supplier. The first 50,000 doses have already been rolled out or will soon be shared with clinics across the country, and 100,000 vaccines are expected to be delivered in September.
With Canada having more than 1,000 cases of smallpox, public health officials say we have an adequate supply of the vaccine. In the United States, health officials are giving smaller doses of the monkeypox vaccine to extend limited supplies.
Canada will use wastewater testing to track disease
Public Health Canada (PHAC) has repeatedly declined to provide the number of monkeypox vaccines that Canada has in the national stockpile, citing security concerns, despite providing that number for other vaccines and other countries sharing that information.
Canada has so far deployed 99,000 vaccines in provinces and territories, Director of Public Health Dr Theresa Tam said during a news conference on Friday.
She said it was “too early to tell” if cases were slowing in Canada, although there may be “some early signs” that they are not increasing at the same rate as they were at the start of the outbreak.
there now 1059 cases of monkeypox Across Canada, with the bulk in Ontario and Quebec, Tam said Canada will soon move to wastewater testing in different parts of the country to better track the spread of disease, and build upgraded infrastructure to monitor COVID-19 during a pandemic.
A person can contract monkeypox through multiple forms of close physical contact with the infected person’s lesions, including skin-to-skin contact such as touch or sex, as well as through respiratory droplets in a conversation, or even exposure to contaminated clothing or bedding.
Most people recover without needing treatment, but the lesions can be very painful and more severe cases can lead to complications including encephalitis and death.
Globally, more than 31,000 cases of monkeypox have been reported in nearly 90 countries. Last month, the World Health Organization declared the outbreak a global emergency and US officials classified the epidemic there as a national emergency, but Canada did not follow suit.
Outside of Africa, 98 percent of cases are among men who have sex with men. With a limited global supply of vaccines in place, authorities are racing to stop monkeypox before it becomes a new disease.
More than 99 percent of monkeypox cases in Canada are in men, Tam said, and the average age of those infected is 35. Late last month, Primary Health Care Center (PHAC) Gay and bisexual men urged to practice safe sex And limit the number of sexual partners, in an effort to slow the spread of the virus between sexual networks.
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