Monkeypox is an outbreak that has spread around the world rapidly, through new modes of transmission about which we understand ‘too little’, and which meets the criteria of an emergency under International Health Regulations.
“For all of these reasons, I have decided that the global monkeypox outbreak represents a public health emergency of international concern”, the World Health Organization’s Director, Tedros Adhanom Gebreyesus, announced on Saturday during a press conference.
Tedros indicated that the current risk of Monkeypox is moderate globally and in all regions, except in the European region where the risk is high.
“There is also a clear risk of further international spread, although the risk of interference with international traffic remains low for the moment”, he added.
Currently, there are more than 16,000 reported cases from 75 countries and territories and five deaths.
In order to fight the Monkeypox outbreak WHO recommends countries to:
- Implement a coordinated response to stop transmission and protect vulnerable groups
- Engage and protect affected communities
- Intensify surveillance and public health measures
- Strengthen clinical management and infection prevention and control in hospitals and clinics
- Accelerate research into the use of vaccines, therapeutics and other tools
A full set of recommendations adapted to different country contexts is published on WHO’s website, and the agency has also launched a live data dashboard for the monkeypox outbreak.
WHO now has three active public health emergencies of international concern: COVID-19, polio and Monkeypox.
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