Geneva, Aug 26 (IANS): The number of newly reported monkeypox cases has decreased worldwide, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

In the week from August 15-21, there were 21 per cent fewer cases than in the previous week, dpa news agency quoted the global health body as saying in a statement issued on Thursday.

In the previous four weeks, the numbers had been rising.

"This decrease may reflect early signs of a declining case count in the European region, which would need to be subsequently confirmed," said the statement.

The European Region includes 53 countries from the EU to Turkey, Turkmenistan, Russia and Israel.

In the North and South America region, however, the numbers continued to rise.

Worldwide, 5,907 cases were reported during the week, compared to 7,477 the week before.

In total, some 41,600 infections and 12 deaths have been reported to the WHO from 96 countries since the beginning of the year.

Presently, the US has the highest number of cases at 15,877.