Monkeypox cases jumped 20% last week to 35,000 across 92 countries: WHO

WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said vaccines may also play an important part in controlling the monkeypox outbreak, and in many countries, there is high demand for vaccines from the affected communities.

More than 35,000 cases of monkeypox have now been reported from 92 countries and territories, with almost 7,500 cases being registered last week - a 20 per cent increase, said World Health Organization (WHO) director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on Wednesday.

A patient shows his hand with a sore caused by an infection of the monkeypox virus in the isolation area for monkeypox patients at the Arzobispo Loayza hospital, in Lima. (AFP)

Ghebreyesus said there has been a total of 12 monkeypox-related deaths across the world so far. Top WHO official also said vaccines may also play an important part in controlling the monkeypox outbreak, and in many countries, there is high demand for vaccines from the affected communities.

Ghebreyesus's statement comes even as Bavarian Nordic A/S, the only company with an approved vaccine for monkeypox, said it’s no longer certain it can meet demand as cases continue to rise across the world.

The Danish company is now exploring the possibility of outsourcing some of the production, including technology transfer to a US contract manufacturer, to meet accelerating demand.

“It’s a very dynamic market situation,” Rolf Sass Sorensen, a vice president at the firm, said by phone on Wednesday. “Demand keeps rising and it’s no longer certain that we can continue to meet the demand we’re facing even with the upgrade of our existing manufacturing site in Denmark.”