SYDNEY (XINHUA) – Health authorities in Australia’s most populous state have urged people at risk of contracting mpox to get vaccinated amid a spike in cases.
New South Wales (NSW) Health yesterday reported that there have been 433 confirmed cases of mpox in the state since June 1, the largest outbreak in NSW since its first case of the infectious disease was confirmed in May 2022.
Of those cases, 37 per cent were fully inoculated – having received two doses of a vaccine – 14 per cent had received one dose and 46 per cent were not vaccinated.
“The rapidly rising numbers of mpox cases detected across the state are very concerning, with 26 people requiring hospitalisation due to the severity of their symptoms,” NSW’s chief health officer Kerry Chant said in a statement.
She said that no cases of the fast-spreading clade 1b strain of mpox that has been circulating in Africa are detected in Australia.
