GENEVA, Switzerland – During the week of 15 to 21 August, the number of cases reported in the region of the Americas shows a continuing steep rise, confirming trends seen over the last several weeks.
Globally, after four consecutive weeks of increase, the number of monkeypox cases reported declined by 21 percent overall during the same week (n=5907 cases) as compared to the previous week (n=7477 cases). This decrease may reflect early signs of a declining case count in the European region, which would need to be subsequently confirmed.
On 8 August, WHO convened a meeting of two WHO Collaborating Centres for orthopoxviruses and other experts in poxvirology and viral evolution to consider the naming of monkeypox virus (MPXV) variants. Henceforth, the Congo Basin or Central African clade will be referred to as Clade I; the West African clade will be referred to as Clade II, with subclades IIa and IIb, the latter referring to the variant that is predominant in the multi-country outbreak.
WHO has updated the interim guidance on vaccines and immunization for monkeypox. Updates include a clearer emphasis on the groups at risk of monkeypox for consideration for preventive vaccination, and updated terminology for pre- and post-exposure vaccination. To reduce confusion with the terms used in the management of HIV, the changes include using primary preventive (pre-exposure) vaccination (PPV) rather than pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), and post-exposure vaccination (PEPV) rather than post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP).
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