WHO seeks sharpened response to virus outbreaks

COPENHAGEN－The World Health Organization Regional Office for Europe called for urgent strategies and tools on Tuesday to control and eradicate COVID-19, monkeypox and polio.

"With autumn and winter approaching, we anticipate a surge in cases, with or without a resurgence of seasonal influenza in Europe," Hans Kluge, regional director of WHO Europe, told a news conference on Tuesday.

Coronavirus has claimed 3,000 lives in the European region in the last week alone, accounting for roughly one-third of the global total, the WHO said.

The recently launched COVID-19 autumn and winter strategy in the European region outlines what countries must do to control both SARS-CoV-2 and other respiratory viruses, Kluge emphasized.

Meanwhile, there have been over 22,000 confirmed cases of monkeypox across 43 countries in the European region, accounting for one-third of the global total. However, Kluge believes Europe can eliminate sustained human-to-human transmission of monkeypox in the region "if we commit to doing so and put the necessary resources toward that end".

The outbreak may be slowing in France, Germany, Portugal, Spain, the United Kingdom and other countries, but Europeans must urgently "step up our efforts", Kluge said.

This week, the WHO released two comprehensive policy briefs: one outlining the policy objectives and steps required for the control and eventual elimination of monkeypox, and the other focusing specifically on the use of monkeypox vaccines.

These "provide a clear message on what we believe our ultimate aim is: to first control, and ultimately achieve and sustain elimination of monkeypox infection in the European region", Kluge said.

Health officials in the southern state of Texas confirmed the death of a person diagnosed with monkeypox on Tuesday, the first of its kind publicly reported by authorities in the United States.

If monkeypox is confirmed as the cause, it will be the first confirmed death from the virus in the US, local media reported. However, health officials said it was too early to say for sure what role monkeypox played in the death.

The adult patient, who was "severely immunocompromised" and had "various severe illnesses", died in a hospital in Harris County on Sunday, reported CBS News citing Texas health officials.

The patient's autopsy result is expected "in the next few weeks", the report said.

So far, the US has seen 18,100 cases of monkeypox across the country since the outbreak began in the spring, and 93 percent of cases occurred among men who reported recent sexual contact with men.

As of Monday, monkeypox has claimed 15 lives around the world, excluding the US, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Xinhua - Agencies