Geneva, Aug 26 (IANS) The number of newly reported monkeypox cases has decreased worldwide, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
In the week from August 15-21, there were 21 per cent fewer cases than in the previous week, dpa news agency quoted the global health body as saying in a statement issued on Thursday.
In the previous four weeks, the numbers had been rising.
"This decrease may reflect early signs of a declining case count in the European region, which would need to be subsequently confirmed," said the statement.
The European Region includes 53 countries from the EU to Turkey, Turkmenistan, Russia and Israel.
In the North and South America region, however, the numbers continued to rise.
Worldwide, 5,907 cases were reported during the week, compared to 7,477 the week before.
In total, some 41,600 infections and 12 deaths have been reported to the WHO from 96 countries since the beginning of the year.
Presently, the US has the highest number of cases at 15,877.
Act 1 came Tuesday, when an 18-year-old gunman, armed with an AR-15 semi-automatic rifle, killed 19 pre-teen children and two teachers in a fourth-grade classroom before dying himself at the hands of law enforcement.
An 18-year-old gunman opened fire Tuesday at a Texas elementary school, killing 14 children, one teacher and injuring others, Gov. Greg Abbott said, and the gunman was dead. It was the deadliest shooting at a U.S. grade school since the shocking attack in Sandy Hook, Connecticut, almost a decade ago.
Cases of the smallpox-related disease have previously been seen only among people with links to central and West Africa. But in the past week, Britain, Spain, Portugal, Italy, U.S., Sweden and Canada all reported infections, mostly in young men who hadn’t previously traveled to Africa.
Police found the victim off the side of a road with apparent gunshot wounds. The man died from his injuries at the scene and his identity is being withheld until his next of kin is notified, the police said.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said during a news briefing that Pfizer's treatment was still too expensive. He noted that most countries in Latin America had no access to Pfizer’s drug, Paxlovid , which has been shown to cut the risk of COVID-19 hospitalization or death by up to 90%.
Paxlovid has become the go-to option against COVID-19 because of its at-home convenience and impressive results in heading off severe disease. The U.S. government has spent more than $10 billion to purchase enough pills to treat 20 million people.
