WHO offers 2,400 rapid test kits ANALYSIS | AGENCIES | The World Health Organisation (WHO) has provided Uganda’s Ministry of Health with a set of 2,400 test kits to strengthen the country’s response to Monkeypox through rapid laboratory identification of cases. These kits are among the first Monkeypox laboratory tools received …
Read More »MONKEYPOX: Kenya confirms first case in truck driver traveling from Uganda
NAIROBI, Kenya | Xinhua | Kenya on Wednesday declared an outbreak of monkeypox (mpox) in the country following its detection in Taita Taveta, southeast of the country’s capital of Nairobi. Mary Muthoni Muriuki, principal secretary in the Ministry of Health, said in a statement issued in Nairobi that the disease …
Read More »WHO renames monkeypox as “mpox” to avoid stigma
Geneva, Switzerland | Xinhua | To avoid racist stereotypes and stigmatization, the World Health Organization (WHO) recommended on Monday that the monkeypox virus be renamed “mpox.” Both names — mpox and monkeypox — will be used simultaneously for one year while the latter is phased out, the WHO said in a …
Read More »EU buys additional vaccine doses in fight against monkeypox
Brussels, Belgium | Xinhua | The European Commission on Monday said it had secured over 10,000 tecovirimat vaccines against monkeypox, despite the declining number of cases in the European Union (EU). The Commission said the emergency procurement adds to the 334,000 vaccines already purchased by the EU. The purchase was funded …
Read More »African conservationists say bushmeat trade fueling zoonotic diseases
Nairobi, Kenya | Xinhua | Illegal trade in bushmeat, meat from wildlife species that are hunted for human consumption, most often referring to the meat of game in Africa, due to lax policing, poverty, and soaring demand for protein is to blame for the regular outbreak of zoonotic diseases in Africa, …
Read More »Africa reports 524 confirmed monkeypox cases: WHO
Brazzaville, Congo | Xinhua | A total of 524 confirmed cases of monkeypox, including 12 deaths, have been reported across 11 African countries since 2022, announced World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Director for Africa Matshidiso Moeti Thursday. The majority of the confirmed cases are in Nigeria, the Democratic Republic of the …
Read More »WHO gives new names to variants of monkeypox virus
WHO officially declared monkeypox outbreak had turned into a public health emergency of international concern Geneva, Switzerland | Xinhua | The World Health Organization (WHO) has announced new names for variants of the monkeypox virus that are currently in circulation. This is to avoid causing any cultural or social offense, the …
Read More »U.S. public health officials make same mistakes with monkeypox they made with HIV/AIDS: opinion
Los Angeles, U.S. | Xinhua | Public health officials in the United States make the same mistakes with monkeypox they made during the HIV/AIDS pandemic, said an opinion piece published on the website of The Washington Post on Monday. Rae Lewis-Thornton, the author of the article and an AIDS activist who …
Read More »Brazil to treat severe monkeypox cases with antiviral drug Tecovirimat
Tecovirimat is being used as a “compassionate care” option in the United States Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | Xinhua | Brazil plans to use the antiviral drug Tecovirimat to treat severe cases of monkeypox, which has already claimed one life in the country, Health Minister Marcelo Queiroga said Monday. “The most …
Read More »African countries report 2,101 monkeypox cases, 75 related deaths
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia | Xinhua | The African continent has so far reported 2,101 monkeypox cases and 75 people have died due to the virus across the continent since the beginning of 2022, the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) disclosed. Out of the 2,101 monkeypox cases that …
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