Last August, WHO declared mpox a global public health emergency for the 2nd time in 2 years, following an outbreak in Democratic Republic of Congo that spread to neighbouring countries.
Over 2,60,000 doses of the MVA-BN mpox vaccine have been donated by the European Union, the Government of the United States, and Gavi with support from Africa CDC.
The UK is working closely with international partners, including the World Health Organization and Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, to monitor the situation and respond to any potential outbreaks.
The current outbreak has been raging since early this year in Africa. Over 17,000 Mpox Clade 1 cases have been reported, with just over 500 fatalities.
The humanitarian crisis in Congo has displaced millions, which increases the risk of the infection spreading to other African countries that are ill-prepared to contain an outbreak.
A close relative of the variola virus, monkeypox can spread through skin-to-skin contact and sexual intercourse. It’s not an STI, only behaving like one.
WHO chief said last week that men who have sex with multiple male partners are more vulnerable. The organisation later clarified that risk of monkeypox isn't limited to gay men.
Data shows that the ‘A.2’ variant recognised in India may have been silently circulating worldwide for a while & is only now being detected due to the European monkeypox outbreak.
In tactical terms, the shirtless protest was worse than a self-goal. Suddenly, the fiascos of the AI Summit were forgotten, and the Youth Congress’s disruption became the issue.
IAF is fine with accepting the aircraft with 'must-haves', even if some other steps remain pending, which may take at least another year, it is learnt.
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