World Health Organization issues statement after reports of animals being poisoned in Brazil
The World Health Organization has stressed that monkeypox outbreaks are not linked to monkeys, following a number of reported attacks on the primates in Brazil.
“What people need to know is that the transmission we are seeing is happening between humans,” a WHO spokesperson, Margaret Harris, told reporters in Geneva on Tuesday.
Continue reading...Music festival organisers say they are notifying patrons after two infections reported in people who visited Byron Bay site
Authorities have told people who attended Splendour in the Grass to be on alert for symptoms of meningococcal disease, after reporting that one man who attended the festival had since died of the disease.
Two cases of meningococcal have been confirmed in people who attended the Byron Bay music festival, including the man in his 40s from Sydney, who died this week.
Sign up to receive an email with the top stories from Guardian Australia every morning
Continue reading...Jab will be prioritised for at-risk groups including gay and bisexual men – especially those who travel
The Australian government has bought 450,000 doses of the monkeypox vaccine, including 22,000 that will arrive this week and next.
The third-generation Bavarian-Nordic vaccine will be prioritised for at-risk groups including gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men, especially those travelling to countries with a significant outbreak.
Sign up to receive an email with the top stories from Guardian Australia every morning
Continue reading...As global demand for monkeypox vaccine surges, health officials say they are stuck in the queue and don’t know when jabs will be available
New Zealand health officials have revealed they are stuck in the queue to order monkeypox vaccine and are unsure when it will arrive.
Monkeypox cases continue to rise globally – more than 23,000 people in at least 75 countries have caught the virus. New Zealand confirmed a third case this week.
Continue reading...Breaking down the data: which demographic groups have suffered the most and the least
Continue reading...Mayor Eric Adams says as many as 150,000 city residents could be at risk of infection and that authorities are working to get more vaccine doses
Officials in New York City declared a public health emergency due to the spread of the monkeypox virus on Saturday, calling the city “the epicenter” of the outbreak.
The announcement by the mayor, Eric Adams, and the health commissioner, Ashwin Vasan, said as many as 150,000 city residents could be at risk of infection. The declaration will allow officials to issue emergency orders under the city health code and implement measures to help slow the spread.
Continue reading...Announcement comes day after report of first such death in Europe as health ministry says 4,298 cases confirmed in country
Spain reported its second monkeypox-related death on Saturday, in what is thought to be Europe’s second death from the disease in the current outbreak.
Spain reported its first death on Friday, shortly after Brazil reported the first monkeypox-related death outside Africa in the current wave of the disease.
Continue reading...Announcement on Friday follows report hours earlier from Brazil of first such death outside Africa
Spain has reported what is thought to be Europe’s first monkeypox-related death in the current outbreak of the disease.
Brazil reported earlier on Friday the first monkeypox-related death outside Africa in the current wave.
Continue reading...Redfern Legal Centre says $20,000 in fines issued is ‘unjust’ and ‘sets children up for failure’
About 500 children aged under 15 were fined a total of $20,000 for not wearing or carrying a mask in New South Wales in the past 12 months, including 34 who remain in an unpaid work and development scheme to reduce their debts.
The state government has faced sustained criticism for its pursuit of children over Covid rule breaches, particularly given the confusing and shifting nature of public health orders and the disproportionate impact Covid fines are having on the most disadvantaged.
Sign up to receive an email with the top stories from Guardian Australia every morning
Continue reading...Monitoring sewage thought to be a quicker, more cost-effective way to understand the spread of the virus
Researchers in Thailand are examining wastewater for signs of monkeypox, as part of surveillance efforts to detect the spread of the virus.
Academics from Naresuan University, in Phitsanulok province, northern Thailand, began testing sewage at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi airport in May, adopting a technique that has also been used to track the spread of Covid-19.
Continue reading...Terrence Higgins Trust says action must be stepped up to prevent disease becoming endemic
Health authorities are underestimating the scale of the response required to stop monkeypox becoming endemic in the UK, sexual health campaigners have warned, as a new vaccination drive is launched.
The Terrence Higgins Trust urged the NHS and the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) to urgently pump cash into the system to pay more healthcare workers to administer vaccines. It also wants the number of doses ordered to be doubled to protect against a virus that has infected at least 2,208 people in the UK, according to the latest official figures.
Continue reading...Vaccine inequity and emerging variants mean the future of the pandemic is increasingly uncertain, researchers say
In May 2021, Australia’s chief medical officer, Prof Paul Kelly, described how Covid vaccines were our “ticket out of the pandemic”. Vaccination, he said, would give Australians “a life with more certainty”.
More than one year later, Australia’s Covid-19 vaccination rate is among the highest in the world.
Sign up to receive an email with the top stories from Guardian Australia every morning
Continue reading...People in Okinawa asked to avoid non-essential outings amid new wave of infections driven by highly transmissible BA.5
Japan’s government has urged people to exercise the “highest level of vigilance” after the country reported a record number of new Covid-19 cases in a new wave of infections driven by the highly transmissible BA.5 subvariant.
More than 186,000 cases were recorded nationwide on Thursday, while Tokyo easily beat its existing daily record with 31,878 cases. The capital, along with Osaka and Fukuoka, were among 30 of the country’s 47 prefectures to report record highs this week.
Continue reading...No treatment or vaccine exists for Marburg, which can spread from infected animals such as bats
Two cases of the deadly Marburg virus have been identified in Ghana, the first time the Ebola-like disease has been found in the west African nation.
Earlier in the month, blood samples taken from two people in the southern Ashanti region suggested they had the Marburg virus.
Continue reading...Guardian Australia brings together all the latest on daily new Covid-19 cases, as well as stats, charts and live state by state data from NSW, Victoria, Queensland, SA, WA, Tasmania, ACT and NT. We bring together the latest numbers on the vaccine rollout and fourth dose booster vaccination rates.
Due to the difference in reporting times between states, territories and the federal government, it can be difficult to get a current picture of the pandemic in Australia. Here we have brought together data on cases, deaths, hospitalisations and vaccinations.
Continue reading...Almost all European countries have reported surge in infections, driven mainly by Omicron variant BA.5
European regulators have recommended a second Covid-19 booster jab for everyone over 60 as well as all medically vulnerable people across Europe amid mounting infections and hospitalisations.
The EU’s health and medicine agencies had previously recommended a second booster for people over the age of 80 in April. But with concerns growing over the rise in cases in Europe, driven mainly by the Omicron variant BA.5, the advice has been widened effective immediately.
Continue reading...From Monday, access will also be expanded to over 50s and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people over 30 with two or more risk factors
All Australians over 70 with Covid will be eligible to take antivirals from Monday, after the health minister, Mark Butler, expanded access to the treatments.
Butler revealed that access will also be expanded to people aged over 50 with two or more risk factors for severe disease and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people aged over 30 with two or more risk factors.
Sign up to receive an email with the top stories from Guardian Australia every morning
Continue reading...Biosecurity Queensland euthanised the horse in Mackay on Friday after it contracted the virus, which can be fatal in humans
Queensland has recorded its first case of Hendra virus since 2017 after a horse tested positive in Mackay.
Biosecurity Queensland said the result was confirmed on Friday and the horse was euthanised after its condition deteriorated rapidly.
Continue reading...Atagi will brief the health minister, Mark Butler, on Thursday after agreeing to recommend the expansion of Australia’s Covid vaccine program
A fourth Covid vaccine will be made available to more Australians as health authorities attempt to starve off further spread of the infectious virus which continues to place the health system under enormous pressure.
The Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (Atagi) met on Wednesday, and agreed to recommend the booster program be expanded. Nine newspapers reported a fourth vaccine will be made available to anyone aged over 30, with a special recommendation for those aged over 50 to take up the offer.
Continue reading...NSW has confirmed 11 cases and health authorities are urging people to be aware of symptoms
Monkeypox may be spreading in Australia after New South Wales found infections among the state’s 11 confirmed cases that could have been transmitted locally.
NSW Health says nine of the infections were probably acquired overseas but two may be local cases, which suggests community transmission could be occurring, especially among men who have sex with men.
Continue reading...