EU health commissioner urges reinforced monkeypox action

By SAMUEL PETREQUIN
Associated Press

BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union’s commissioner for health is urging the bloc’s governments to step up their efforts to tackle the expanding monkeypox outbreak. The commissioner wrote Wednesday to the bloc’s 27 health ministers to call for a “reinforced, concerted and coordinated action.” Last week, the World Health Organization declared the monkeypox outbreak a global emergency. The European official said the bloc’s priorities at this stage must include stepping up the identification and reporting of cases and preventing the spread of infection. Monkeypox has been established in parts of central and west Africa for decades. But it was not known to spark large outbreaks beyond the continent or to spread widely among people until May.