At the end of July, more than a thousand monkeypox vaccines will arrive in Finland. WHO will decide today whether to declare monkeypox an international health threat
21.7. 14:24 | Updated 21.7. 18:58
in Finland four new monkeypox infections have been detected in the last two weeks, says the infectious disease doctor of the Institute of Health and Welfare (THL) Katja Kotkavaara. So far, a total of 17 monkeypox infections have been found in Finland. Finland’s first monkeypox infection was stated at the end of May.
“We have infections both from abroad and from home,” says Kotkavaara.
However, most of the infections are from abroad. THL does not disclose to the public in which hospital districts infections have been found, because there are so few cases, says Kotkavaara.
“There will probably be even more cases in Finland, but we don’t expect any major escalation.”
Kotvaara stresses that the risk of getting sick for the general population is really small.
Cases of infection vaccinations are used to prepare for an increase in the number.
Read more: The EU buys 110,000 monkeypox vaccines
Finland is about to receive more than a thousand monkeypox vaccines at the end of July. Vaccinations are supposed to be given to people who have been in close contact with people who have contracted monkeypox.
Guidance on the definition of close contact is currently being finalized at THL. According to Kotvaara, for example, direct contact with skin changes or long-lasting face-to-face contact can be counted as close contact.
“This is not the kind of disease that is contagious through a brief encounter in everyday life,” explains Kotkavaara.
Kotkavaara says that vaccines are distributed to hospital districts all over Finland.
“In such a way that close contacts can be vaccinated quickly if cases occur in the area in question.”
World On Thursday, a group of experts from the health organization WHO discussed whether the spread of monkeypox is classified as an international health threat. There is no information on the schedule for the announcement of the decision, reports news agency AFP.
So far, almost 14,000 cases of monkeypox have been reported in more than 70 countries.
The WHO’s expert group last considered in June whether the spread of monkeypox should be classified with the organization’s highest threat classification. At that time, the WHO stated that the spread of monkeypox did not constitute an international health threat at that time.
Read more: WHO: Monkeypox is not currently an international public health threat
For example, the coronavirus pandemic, the Ebola epidemic in the Congo and the spread of the polio virus have previously been declared an international public health threat.
Finnish government boat from the beginning of July, to add monkeypox to the infectious diseases controlled in Finland.
Monkey pox typically found in wild animals in the tropical rain forest regions of Central and West Africa. It is a zoonosis, i.e. a disease primarily transmitted from animals to humans. Monkeypox was first detected in humans in 1970.
According to AFP, almost 8,000 monkeypox cases have been identified in the European Economic Area so far. The most infections have been found in Spain, where almost 3,000 cases have been reported. After Spain, Germany and France have had the most cases.
In Norway, which has almost the same population size as Finland, the number of infections has doubled in the last two weeks, tells Norwegian public broadcaster NRK. On Wednesday, July 6, there were 22 infections, this week the number had risen to 44.
According to THL, monkeypox is not contagious between people. You can get infected by direct contact with an infected animal through blood, blisters or other secretions.
According to THL, the vast majority of infections found outside of Africa this year have been acquired through sex, but it is not a sexually transmitted disease.
Read more: Monkeypox is not a venereal disease and heterosexuality does not protect against infection, experts say – “It is a coincidence that it has spread at men’s parties”
The typical initial symptoms of monkeypox are high fever, swollen lymph nodes and a blistering rash. Chicken pox is usually accompanied by a papular or vesicular rash. Usually the disease gets better on its own within a few weeks, but you can develop a serious disease if your immune system is weakened due to another illness or medical treatment.
#Infectious #diseases #Finland #preparing #monkeypox #buying #vaccines #arrive #days
