WHO: Monkey pox exceeded 70,000 cases

The World Health Organization announced on Wednesday that the number of monkeypox cases in the world has exceeded 70,000, and warned that the decline in new cases does not mean abandoning caution.

The World Health Organization said that case numbers last week were on the rise in many countries in the Americas, stressing that the slowdown in the emergence of new cases around the world could be the "most dangerous" periods of the outbreak.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said more than 70,000 cases had been reported, with 26 deaths.

"Globally, cases continue to decline, but in the past week 21 countries have reported an increase in cases, most of them in the Americas and representing nearly 90% of all cases reported last week," he said at a press conference in Geneva.

"The declining outbreak could be the most dangerous because it could lead us to believe the crisis is over, and cause us to drop our guard," he added.

He said the WHO was working with countries to increase their testing capacity and monitor trends.

"As with COVID-19, monkeypox remains a public health emergency of international concern, and the World Health Organization will continue to treat it as such," Tedros added.

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