The World Health Organisation declared monkeypox as a public health emergency on Saturday, July 23.
“The global monkeypox outbreak is a public health emergency of international concern,” WHO director Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus stated.
Dr. Tedros noted that more than 16,000 cases have been reported from 75 countries and territories, and there have been five reported deaths, a month after the Emergency Committee under the International Health Regulations was established to determine whether the multi-country monkeypox outbreak represented a public health emergency of international concern.
According to the head of the WHO, five factors are taken into account when determining whether an outbreak qualifies as a public health emergency of global concern:
1. The data provided by the nations in this instance demonstrates how quickly the monkeypox virus has spread to several previously unaffected nations.
2. According to the Worldwide Health Regulations, there are three requirements that must be satisfied in order to declare a public health emergency of international concern.
3. The Emergency Committee’s recommendation, on which there is disagreement
4. We currently lack sufficient scientific concepts, proof, and other pertinent information, which leaves us with many unanswered questions.
5. The potential for global expansion, harm to human health, and interference with international traffic.
Dr. Tedros stated, “There is also a clear risk of further international spread, although the risk of interference with international traffic remains low for the moment. According to WHO, the risk of monkeypox is moderate globally and in all regions, with the exception of the European region, where we assess the risk as high.
The WHO director stated on Saturday, “We have an outbreak that has spread swiftly over the world through new mechanisms of transmission, about which we understand too little and that satisfies the requirements in the International Health Regulations.”
