欧盟宣布将捐赠逾21万剂疫苗应对非洲猴痘疫情
中新社布鲁塞尔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。
这一举措显示了欧盟在全球公共卫生领域的领导力和责任感，同时也体现了国际社会对非洲地区卫生安全的关注和支持。
英语如下：
EU Donates Over 2.1 Million Doses of Vaccines to Combat African Monkeypox Outbreak
Keywords: EU donation, monkeypox outbreak, African Centre for Disease Control
EU Announces Donation of Over 2.1 Million Doses of Vaccines to Address African Monkeypox Outbreak
BEIJING, Aug. 14 (Xinhua) — Following the monkeypox outbreak declared a public health emergency of international concern in Africa, the European Union (EU) announced on Thursday that it will donate more than 2.1 million doses of vaccines to the African Centre for Disease Control to combat the ongoing spread of the monkeypox virus in the region.
According to a statement released by the European Commission on the same day, the donated vaccines are the MVA-BN smallpox vaccines produced by the Danish pharmaceutical 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 zoonotic viral disease, monkeypox belongs to the same genus as smallpox, and the MVA-BN smallpox vaccine, which has been approved by the EU for use in preventing monkeypox, can offer some protection against the virus.
The statement indicated that in addition to the vaccine donation, the EU plans to donate 3.5 million euros to the African Centre for Disease Control this autumn to bolster its efforts in monkeypox testing and virus genomic sequencing.
Commissioner Kylian Kyriakides, responsible for health and food safety at the European Commission, stated in the announcement that health security threats know no borders and that the donation of over 2.1 million doses of vaccines is aimed at protecting the most vulnerable populations affected by the monkeypox outbreak in African countries.
On August 13, the African Centre for Disease Control declared the monkeypox outbreak a public health emergency of international concern in Africa, following its continued spread. According to the African Centre for Disease Control, the outbreak has affected at least 16 African countries and has seen a significant increase in reported cases compared to the previous year.
The first human case of monkeypox virus infection in the world was discovered in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in 1970. The clinical symptoms primarily include fever, rash, and swollen lymph nodes. The fatality rate among infected individuals is low, with most recovering within a few weeks.
Past outbreaks of monkeypox have been primarily seen in central and West Africa, but the virus erupted globally in May 2022, prompting the World Health Organization (WHO) to declare the outbreak a Public Health Emergency of International Concern in July of that year. The situation was lifted in May 2023, with the WHO reporting that the outbreak had affected over 110 countries and resulted in more than 87,000 cases of monkeypox and 140 deaths.
This move demonstrates the EU’s leadership and responsibility in the global public health arena and reflects the international community’s concern and support for the health security of the African region.
【来源】http://www.chinanews.com/gj/2024/08-15/10268984.shtml
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