Monkeypox outbreak a ‘global health emergency’ – WHO

Monkeypox outbreak a ‘global health emergency’ – WHO

The head of the World Health Organization has declared the monkeypox outbreak to be a global health emergency – the highest alarm it can sound.

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said: “I have decided that the global monkeypox outbreak represents a public health emergency of international concern.”

The WHO said the expanding monkeypox outbreak in more than 70 countries is an “extraordinary” situation that now qualifies as a global emergency.

The UN health agency’s declaration could spur further investment in treating the once-rare disease – and also worsen the scramble for scarce vaccines.

Earlier, it was reported that members of a WHO expert group were split over whether the monkeypox outbreak represents a global health emergency.

The committee, which met on Thursday, provides advice to Mr Tedros, who is responsible for making the final decision over whether to declare a global health emergency.

In the past, Mr Tedros always went with the committee’s recommendation, but sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said he was seriously considering declaring the agency’s highest level of alert despite the lack of a majority opinion due to his concern about the urgency of the situation.

The label – a “public health emergency of international concern” – previously only applied to the coronavirus pandemic and ongoing efforts to eradicate polio.

In recent weeks, pressure has been increasing from scientists and public health experts for the WHO and national governments to take more action on monkeypox.

There have now been more than 14,000 cases reported, and five deaths, from 71 WHO member states.

When the committee first met at the end of June, there were only about 3,000 cases.

There are already effective treatments and vaccines for monkeypox, but they are in short supply. The WHO has also already been providing advice and updates since the outbreak began in early May.

In Europe and the United States, cases have almost entirely been reported among men who have sex with men, and the committee said it would reconsider if other groups began to report cases, particularly children or others who have been more vulnerable to the virus in past outbreaks in endemic countries.

Yesterday, the United States identified its first two monkeypox cases in children.

Any changes to the virus itself, which spreads through close contact and causes lesions and flu-like symptoms, could also spark a rethink, the committee said.

The group was split between those who thought an emergency declaration would accelerate efforts to contain the disease, and those who did not think it meets the criteria because it has not yet spread to new groups of people or had a high fatality rate, sources said.