The fast-growing monkeypox outbreak is a global health emergency, according to World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
An official declaration of “an extraordinary event which is determined to constitute a public health risk to other States through the international spread of disease and to potentially require a coordinated international response” is known as a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC).
“Although I am declaring a public health emergency of international concern, for the moment this is an outbreak that is concentrated among men who have sex with men, especially those with multiple sexual partners,” Tedros told a press briefing in Geneva.
“That means that this is an outbreak that can be stopped with the right strategies in the right groups,” he said.
He argued that it is crucial for all nations to collaborate closely with groups of men who have sex with other men in order to develop and supply information and services that are useful, as well as to support policies that safeguard the communities in question’s health, human rights, and dignity.
According to Tedros, the WHO has determined that the risk of monkeypox is moderate worldwide and across all regions, with the exception of the European region, where we have determined that the risk is high.
Although the risk of interfering with international traffic is currently modest, he continued, there is still a definite risk of further international spread.
After two outbreaks of a disease resembling the pox occurred in monkeys maintained for research in 1958, monkeypox was first identified.
The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DR) reported the discovery of the first human case of monkeypox in 1970.
Since then, central and western African nations have seen the majority of human instances of monkeypox.
The first case of the most recent monkeypox outbreak in the world was confirmed in the UK in May of this year. Since then, cases of monkeypox have been reported in over a dozen other nations.
To read our blog on “According to WHO, monkeypox poses a mild risk to public health,” click here.
