The number of new cases of monkeypox in many European countries is on the decline. If countries strengthen their response measures, the monkeypox epidemic in Europe may be completely eliminated, a World Health Organization official said on the 30th. The number of new monkeypox cases in France, Germany, Portugal, Spain, the United Kingdom and other European countries decreased for several weeks in a row. The report released by the who last week showed that although most of the infected people in the early stage of the outbreak of monkeypox came from Europe, in the past four weeks, about 60% of the new cases of monkeypox in the world occurred in the Americas, and the proportion in Europe fell to less than 40%. Hans Kruger, who regional director for Europe, said: "we believe that it is possible to completely eliminate the continuous human to human transmission of monkeypox virus in Europe. To achieve this goal, we need to urgently strengthen our response." Katerin Smallwood, who official in charge of the response to the monkeypox epidemic in Europe, believes that in view of the shortage of monkeypox vaccines in Europe and the time required for vaccination and effectiveness, the main reason for the slowdown of the monkeypox epidemic in this region may be "early detection, early isolation" and changes in people's behavior. Smallwood said that some evidence shows that countries have strengthened the popularization of monkeypox virus prevention and control knowledge to the public, especially groups with high risk of infection such as men who have sex with men. The who announced on July 23 that the monkeypox epidemic has constituted a "public health emergency of international concern". As of August 29, more than 47600 cases of monkeypox had been reported in about 90 countries and regions around the world. Among them, the United States has the largest cumulative number of monkeypox cases, about 17000. (news agency)