Brussels, Sept 26, (dpa/GNA) – The European Commission has purchased over 10,000 treatment courses of tecovirimat, to treat monkeypox, it announced on Monday.
“The declining trend of monkeypox cases in the EU is encouraging, but it does not mean that the threat has passed or that we can lower our guard,” EU Health Commissioner Stella Kyriakides said.
Close to 20,000 cases of monkeypox have been reported in the European Union, Iceland and Norway since the start of the current outbreak, but the number of new infections has been declining in recent weeks, according to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC).
“With these treatments, we will help member states meet immediate needs and ensure care for more patients in Europe,” Kyriakides said.
The treatment courses can be accessed by the EU’s member states and other countries, participating in the bloc’s Civil Protection Mechanism.
GNA