Australia

Australia makes monkeypox a disease of national significance

cde.news desk 28 July 2022, 10:40 · 1 min read

epa10074094 A security personnel looks on next to a list of high-risk countries for the Monkeypox virus, as India reported the first case of Monkeypox in the WHO South-East Asia Region, at Chennai International Airport, in Chennai, India, 16 July 2022. The Tamil Nadu state public health department has started screening international passengers landing in the state of Tamil Nadu for symptoms of the Monkeypox virus as the first confirmed case of WHO South-East Asia Region has been reported in India after a traveler from Kerala who recently returned from the Middle East tested positive for the Monkeypox virus on 14 July 2022. The Tamil Nadu state government has increased the surveillance across the borders sharing with the state of Kerala and started screening at all international airports in Tamil Nadu. EPA-EFE/IDREES MOHAMMED

SYDNEY, July 28 (Reuters) – Australia said on Thursday the spread of monkeypox was now a “communicable disease incident of national significance” to allow for a more coordinated response, following the World Health Organization’s declaration of a global health emergency.

Chief Medical Officer Paul Kelly said in a statement that the National Incident Centre had been activated to enhance coordination across Australia’s states and territories to manage the outbreak.

Kelly said there had been 44 cases of monkeypox in Australia, with most cases in returned international travellers, and around the world this year there had been 20,311 cases in 71 countries that have not historically reported monkeypox cases.

He said the disease is less harmful and far less transmissible than COVID-19.