More than 5,900 new cases of monkeypox infections were detected worldwide last week, a 21% drop from the previous seven days.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), a total of 41,600 confirmed cases of monkeypox and 12 deaths have been reported in 96 countries as of August 22.
During the past week (15 to 21 August) almost six thousand infected people were detected, 21% fewer than from 8 to 14 August (7,400 cases).
The leaders in terms of the number of infections since the beginning of the year were the United States (14,000). They are followed by Spain (6.1 thousand), Brazil (3.4 thousand), Germany (3.2 thousand), Great Britain (3.2 thousand), France (2.8 thousand), Canada (1.1 thousand), Netherlands (1.09 thousand), Peru (937) and Portugal (810). These 10 countries account for 88.9% of all infected people. Last week, Indonesia and Iran joined the list of states where monkeypox has been detected.
The WHO noted that more than 98% of those infected with monkeypox are male, with an average age of 36 years. Less than 1% of the cases are minors. The vast majority of cases were sexually transmitted. At the same time, 95.8% of those infected were people of nontraditional orientation. WHO also cited 256 infected health care workers.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus stressed that the increase in the incidence of monkeypox was noted primarily in the Americas. It now accounts for 60% of new infections, while Europe accounts for less than 40%.
He drew attention to the fact that in Latin America the population is not sufficiently informed about the disease and there is no proper access to vaccination. This, according to the head of the WHO, "fans the flames of the monkeypox outbreak."