With Pan-American countries accounting for the largest number of monkey pox cases in the world and Covid-19 remains a “significant threat” to the region, prevention is key to avoiding contamination and protecting public health, the statement said. Director of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), Dr. Carissa F. Etienne.
Millions of people still unvaccinated
Despite a decline in the number of Covid-19 cases, hospitalizations and deaths in the region, “hundreds of people are still dying every day from COVID-19 in our region,” Dr Etienne said at a news conference on Wednesday.
“Yet countries have scaled back their public health measures while millions of people remain unvaccinated.”
While most of the vaccines supplied in the region are for boosters, 10 countries and territories have yet to fully vaccinate as much as 40% of their population and some people have not yet received any vaccination dose.
“We cannot and should not be complacent because this virus is still circulating, it is still evolving and new variants may still emerge,” said Dr Etienne, urging countries to prioritize those left unprotected, including children going back to school this month.
America’s epicenter of monkeypox pandemic: 30,000 cases
As for the monkeypox/monkeypox outbreak, the PAHO director pointed out that more than 30,000 cases have been reported in the region, making the Americas the epicenter of the pandemic.
Most cases are concentrated in the United States, Brazil, Peru and Canada, and mainly among men who have sex with men, although at least 145 cases have been reported in women and 54 in those under the age of 18.
Following a request from member states at a special meeting of PAHO’s Board of Directors in August, PAHO has entered into an agreement with the monkeypox vaccine manufacturer to make it available to countries in the region.
However, with a shortage of vaccines and no effective treatment for monkeypox, Dr Etienne urged countries to “step up their efforts to prevent the spread of the virus”.
This includes effective communication campaigns, using pragmatic, honest, targeted messages “so that everyone knows how monkeypox is spread, how to identify specific symptoms and when to seek medical attention”.
The PAHO director also called for increasing and decentralizing testing capacity, especially for high-risk populations, and ensuring that health professionals are trained to recognize symptoms and provide respectful, high-quality care.
dr. Etienne also called on countries to tackle the stigma surrounding the disease, which prevents groups at risk from accessing information, getting tested or seeking medical attention.
“Stigmatization has no place in public health,” she said. “If we are not proactive in overcoming these barriers, monkeypox will spread silently.”
PAHO is currently working with countries to prioritize limited vaccine doses for risk groups and to strengthen testing. The organization has also developed guidelines and workshops to support countries’ efforts to engage affected communities.
“As we have seen from the global response to Covid-19, access to resources and sustainable collaboration are key to stopping a virus,” said Dr Etienne.
“An effective public health response requires us to be decisive, act swiftly and prioritize support for the most vulnerable in our region.”