Sydney — New South Wales, the most populous state in Australia, has urged at-risk individuals to get vaccinated against mpox (monkeypox) amid a significant increase in cases.

On Thursday (Oct. 3), the state's health department reported that New South Wales has confirmed 433 mpox cases since June 1, marking the largest outbreak since the first case was identified in May 2022. Of these cases, 37% are fully vaccinated with two doses, 14% have received one dose, and 46% remain unvaccinated.

Kerry Chant, Chief Health Officer of New South Wales, expressed serious concern about the rapid increase in mpox cases in the state. She noted that 26 individuals have been hospitalized due to severe symptoms.

Chant highlighted that most hospitalized patients were either unvaccinated or had received only one dose of the vaccine. She added that those fully vaccinated with two doses generally experienced milder symptoms and recovered faster.

Australia has not reported any cases of the more transmissible clade 1b variant of mpox, which is currently spreading in Central and West Africa.

In Victoria, the second-most populous state, authorities reported 120 confirmed mpox cases since April as of August. Australia has confirmed a total of 26 mpox cases in 2023.

Source: Xinhua
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