欧盟宣布向非洲捐赠逾21万剂疫苗应对猴痘疫情
中新网布鲁塞尔8月14日电（记者德永健）在猴痘疫情构成非洲公共卫生紧急事件后，欧盟14日宣布将向非洲疾控中心捐赠逾21万剂疫苗，应对当地持续蔓延的猴痘疫情。
据欧盟委员会当日发布的公告，欧盟所捐疫苗为丹麦药企巴伐利亚北欧公司（Bavarian Nordic）生产的MVA-BN天花疫苗，总计21.542万剂，其中17.542万剂由欧盟采购，其余4万剂由巴伐利亚北欧公司捐赠。
作为病毒性人畜共患病，猴痘与天花同属正痘病毒属，接种天花疫苗可对猴痘起到一定预防作用。目前MVA-BN天花疫苗已在欧盟获批，用于预防猴痘。
公告显示，除捐赠疫苗，欧盟还计划在今年秋天向非洲疾控中心捐赠350万欧元，帮助非洲疾控中心加大猴痘检测和病毒基因测序的力度。
欧盟委员会负责卫生和食品安全事务的委员基里亚基季斯在公告中称，卫生安全威胁不分国界，希望通过捐赠逾21万剂疫苗，保护非洲受猴痘影响国家最脆弱的群体。
8月13日，随着猴痘疫情持续蔓延，非洲疾控中心宣布猴痘疫情构成非洲公共卫生紧急事件。据非洲疾控中心统计，目前疫情至少波及非洲16个国家，报告的病例较去年同期大增。
1970年，非洲中部国家刚果(金)发现全球首例人感染猴痘病毒病例，临床表现主要为发热、皮疹、淋巴结肿大等。感染者病死率较低，多数会在几周内康复。
过往猴痘疫情多见于非洲中部和西非地区，但2022年5月后，猴痘疫情一度在全球暴发，致使世界卫生组织于当年7月宣布猴痘疫情构成国际关注的突发公共卫生事件，至2023年5月这一状态解除，世界卫生组织表示疫情共波及全球110多个国家和地区，报告的猴痘病例超过8.7万例，死亡病例为140例。
此次欧盟的捐赠行动，显示了其对非洲公共卫生问题的重视，同时也展现了国际社会共同应对公共卫生挑战的决心。
英语如下：
EU Donates Over 2.1 Million Vaccine Doses to Combat African Monkeypox Outbreak
EU announces donation of over 2.1 million vaccine doses to combat African monkeypox outbreak
BEIJING, Aug. 14 (Xinhua) — Following the declaration of a public health emergency of international concern by the World Health Organization (WHO), the European Union (EU) announced on Thursday that it will donate over 2.1 million vaccine doses to the African Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) to combat the ongoing monkeypox outbreak in the continent.
According to a statement released by the European Commission on the same day, the vaccines donated by the EU are the MVA-BN smallpox vaccines produced by the Danish company Bavarian Nordic, totaling 215,420 doses. Of these, 175,420 doses were procured by the EU, with the remaining 40,000 doses donated by Bavarian Nordic.
As a viral zoonosis, monkeypox is part of the Orthopoxvirus genus, the same family as smallpox. Vaccination with smallpox vaccines can provide some protection against monkeypox. The MVA-BN smallpox vaccine has been approved by the EU for the prevention of monkeypox.
The statement also showed that in addition to the donation of vaccines, the EU plans to donate 3.5 million euros to the Africa CDC in the autumn to help strengthen the detection and viral genome sequencing of monkeypox.
Commissioner Kyrillos Kyriakides, responsible for health and food safety, stated in the announcement that health security threats do not recognize national boundaries. He hoped to protect the most vulnerable groups affected by the monkeypox in African countries through the donation of over 2.1 million vaccine doses.
On August 13, as the monkeypox outbreak continued to spread, the Africa CDC declared the monkeypox outbreak a public health emergency in Africa. According to statistics from the Africa CDC, the outbreak has affected at least 16 countries in Africa and reported cases have significantly increased compared to the same period last year.
The first human case of monkeypox virus infection in the world was discovered in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) in 1970. Clinical symptoms include fever, rash, and swollen lymph nodes. The mortality rate of infected individuals is relatively low, and most recover within a few weeks.
Previous outbreaks of monkeypox have been primarily seen in the central and West African regions, but in May 2022, the outbreak spread globally, prompting the WHO to declare the monkeypox outbreak a public health emergency of international concern in July of that year. By May 2023, this status was lifted, with the WHO reporting that the outbreak had affected over 110 countries and territories worldwide, with more than 87,000 confirmed cases and 140 deaths.
The EU’s donation initiative demonstrates its commitment to addressing public health issues in Africa and shows the international community’s resolve to jointly tackle public health challenges.
【来源】http://www.chinanews.com/gj/2024/08-14/10268966.shtml
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