ST. PETERSBURG, June 16. /TASS/. A monkeypox vaccine is needed in Russia, since the incidence is growing in the world, Alexander Gintsburg, director of the Gamaleya Center, told TASS on Thursday on the sidelines of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum.
"Naturally, it is needed," he said in response to the corresponding question. "Today, no one can explain why this infection, which was endemic to the African continent, is spreading across the globe for no apparent reason. I am afraid that it cannot be explained by untraditional sexual contacts only. The number of confirmed cases is growing day after day."
According to Director General of the World Health Organization (WHO) Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, more than 1,600 confirmed monkeypox cases and nearly 1,500 suspected cases have been reported to the WHO this year. Such reports have come from 39 world nations, including 32, which never had this disease.
Russia’s sanitary watchdog said on June 8 that no monkeypox cases had been registered in Russia.