The regional director of the Regional Office for Europe of the World Health Organization (WHO)Hans Henri P. Kluge, has pointed out that one can “end up eliminating the monkey pox“In Europe, after the “first signs of a slowdown in the outbreak”.
“Our region was where the first cases of this outbreak emerged, where we are seeing the first signs of the outbreak slowing down, and where we believe we can eventually eliminate monkeypox if we commit to doing so. This political objective It’s a clear message to everyone about what we believe the end goal is,” Kluge said in a statement.
WHO Europe has launched a series of reports on monkeypox for the WHO European Region, which covers 53 countries in Europe and Central Asia. The reports will support Member States that are already responding directly to the outbreakand will help prepare those who have not yet reported cases.
The first report in this series, entitled ‘Considerations for the control and elimination of monkeypox in the WHO European Region’, has been produced in collaboration with the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC).
The document offers a set of general recommendations on how to control the outbreak and ultimately achieve and maintain monkeypox elimination in the region. “No single intervention will achieve this goal: success will depend on the application of multiple interventions combined” picks up the text.
“The objective is to take advantage of the early response to monkeypox in Europe, with the clear general objective of remove sustained transmission from person to person in the Region,” said Dr. Catherine Smallwood, Senior Emergency Officer at WHO Europe and responsible for the monkeypox outbreak.
For her part, the director of the ECDC, Andrea Ammon, pointed out that these reports “outline the ways we can start to control monkeypox infection in Europe”.
“These steps include, among others, the isolation of cases, the appropriate use of therapeutics and vaccines, as well as engagement with affected communities, which can ensure that public health information is communicated quickly and effectively. We underline that they must multiple steps and approaches applied simultaneously to ensure impact. Indicators are also proposed to monitor the progress of countries towards this goal,” he detailed.
The second paper in the series, entitled ‘Policy Brief on Vaccination Against Monkeypox in the WHO European Region’, will be of particular interest to managers of national immunization programs.
The text offers a reference for the planning of vaccination programs against monkeypox, especially in the context of limited vaccine supplies and the need to generate evidence on its use.
“Not only does it contain descriptions of the available vaccines, but it also brings together recommendations on vaccines from the WHO and other international bodies, summaries of vaccination strategies already applied by European countries, and guidance on the decision-making process,” said Siddhartha Sankar Datta, Regional Advisor on Vaccine-Preventable Diseases and Immunization for WHO Europe.
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