Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton has lauded the Victorian response to monkeypox as new infections have dropped across the state, despite fears case numbers would rise after an early spike.
The most recent figures on the Victorian Department of Health website show active monkeypox cases had fallen from 27 on September 2 to just seven on September 16. Victoria has recorded 67 monkeypox cases in total, but this tally has only grown by two since September 2.
Victorian Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton.Credit:Simon Schluter
“Victoria has had no MPX [monkeypox] cases for a few weeks now, having had significantly early growth in cases,” Sutton tweeted on Friday afternoon.
“Lo and behold, those pillars of a public health response work. Case isolation, contact tracing and early testing through close engagement with at-risk community. Well done!”
Sutton also particularly thanked members of the LGBT community for their responsiveness and engagement with health authorities.
“With over 60,000 cases globally the risk will continue for some time, so MPX vaccination will be really important to manage risk now and into the future,” he tweeted.
Melbourne has been the epicentre of the infectious disease in Australia, accounting for about half of the country’s 135 cases in this outbreak, as of September 22.
Victorian health officials have been scrambling to trace the spread of the local outbreak, with more than 40 of the state’s 67 cases determined to be locally transmitted. Numbers had been expected to rise in the coming warmer months.
The outbreak has so far largely affected men who have sex with men, with symptoms closely mirroring sexually transmitted infections including syphilis and herpes.
Professor Andrew Grulich, a lead in Australia’s HIV response, said monkeypox case numbers had declined elsewhere in the world, such as North America and Europe, after a spike in July and August.
He added that vaccination remained crucial, despite the recent infection decline.
“Until we get vaccination up, there is still a risk of an outbreak,” Grulich said.
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