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A day after global health officials issued a warning, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) raised the risk level of MPox Confirmed This is the first time Sweden has been infected with the new virus strain outside of Africa.
Head of EU public health agency explain Further imported cases of the new MPOX strain will occur in Europe in the coming weeks, but the risk of sustained transmission remains low.
The World Health Organization on Wednesday Declared An outbreak of MPOX has occurred in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, a global public health emergency and the highest level of alert. Already spread To neighboring countries.
The World Health Organization will host Emergency meeting A senior official said the summit on Friday would discuss how to ensure equitable global access to testing, treatments and vaccines for the virus.
Mpox, a Viral infection It causes purulent lesions and flu-like symptoms that are usually mild but can be fatal. Two strains of the virus are currently circulating in Congo – an endemic strain, known as type I, and a new offshoot called type Ib.
The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control on Friday raised its assessment of the risk level of MPox in the European Union from “low” to “medium” and asked countries to remain highly vigilant about travelers from the affected areas. The agency said the overall risk to the public has risen from “very low” to “low”.
“Because Europe and Africa are so closely connected, we have to be prepared for more imported Type I cases,” said Pamela Rendi Wagner, the agency’s director.
Pakistan Also confirmed On Friday, a patient returning from a Gulf country was infected with the MPox virus, but it is not yet clear whether the virus is a new variant or an evolutionary branch that has been circulating globally since 2022.
Mpox is spread through close physical contact, including sexual contact, but unlike previous global pandemics such as COVID-19, there is no evidence that it can be easily spread through the air.
WHO official Margaret Harris said on a press call Friday that she expects more cases outside Africa to emerge soon because of increased surveillance.
However, the WHO recommended against any travel restrictions to stop the spread of the virus. China said earlier on Friday it planned to Monitor People and goods entering the country for MPOX are banned for the next six months.
diagnosis
More diagnostic kits, therapeutic drugs and vaccines need to be sent to Africa to adequately respond to the outbreak of the new pox virus there, an official from the Red Cross and Red Crescent humanitarian network said. explain On Friday.
Head of Global Vaccine Alliance told Reuters The country has invested up to $500 million to provide vaccines to countries affected by the epidemic in Africa.
Shares in companies producing and developing products for mpox Surge Shares of vaccine makers Bavarian Nordic BAVA.CO and Emergent BioSolutions EBS.N rose 20 percent each on Friday, while Siga Technologies SIGA.O , which makes the antiviral mpox drug, rose 7 percent.
Bavaria Nordic, Denmark, said: Submitted data has applied to the European Union’s medicines regulator for approval to expand the use of its smallpox vaccine to adolescents aged 12 to 17.
Shares of New Jersey-based Tonix Pharmaceuticals TNXP.O also rose sharply as the company explain It will advance the development of its mpox vaccine candidate.
“Given the global public health emergency, we are motivated to urgently advance the development of the mpox vaccine,” said Seth Lederman, the company’s chief executive.
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