Tubes labeled “Positive and negative monkeypox virus” can be seen in this illustration taken on May 23, 2022. DADO RUVIC / Reuters
The World Health Organization has said that the escalating monkeypox epidemic in more than 50 countries needs to be closely monitored, but does not guarantee that it will be declared a global health emergency.
In a statement Saturday, the WHO’s emergency committee said many aspects of the outbreak were “unusual” and acknowledged that monkeypox – which is endemic in some African countries – had been neglected for years.
“While several members expressed differing views, the commission decided by consensus to advise the Director-General of the WHO that at this stage the outbreak should be determined not to be a ‘global health emergency,’ the WHO said in a statement.
However, the WHO pointed to the “extraordinary nature” of the epidemic and said controlling its spread required an “intensive” response.
The committee said the outbreak should be “closely monitored and inspected in a few weeks”. But I would recommend a reassessment before that, if some new developments appear – as cases among prostitutes; spread to other countries or to countries that have already had cases; increased severity of cases; or increasing propagation rate.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adanom Gebrejesus convened an emergency committee on Thursday after expressing concern over the monkeypox epidemic in countries that had not previously reported the disease.
“What makes the current epidemic particularly worrying is the rapid, continuing spread to new countries and regions and the risk of further, prolonged transmission of vulnerable populations, including immunocompromised people, pregnant women and children,” he said. WHO.
Monkeypox has been affecting people in Central and West Africa for decades, but until last month it was not known that the disease caused significant outbreaks in many countries at once and involved people who had no connection to travel to the continent.
The declaration of a global health emergency means that the health crisis is an “emergency” event that requires a globally managed response and that the disease is at high risk of spreading across borders. The WHO has previously made similar declarations for diseases, including COVID-19, Ebola in Congo and West Africa, Zika in Brazil and ongoing efforts to eradicate polio.
The declaration of a state of emergency mainly serves as a call to attract more global resources and attention to the outbreak. Past communications have had a mixed impact, given that the WHO is largely powerless when trying to persuade parties to act.
The WHO announced this week that it had confirmed more than 3,200 monkeypox infections in about 40 countries that had not previously reported the disease. The majority of cases are in men who are gay, bisexual or have sex with other men, and more than 80 percent of the cases are in Europe.
A leading WHO adviser said last month that the rise in cases in Europe was likely linked to the sexual activity of men at two raves in Spain and Belgium, speculating that his appearance in the gay and bisexual community was a “coincidental event”. British officials say most cases in the UK involve men who report having sex with other men in places such as saunas and sex clubs.
Scientists warn that anyone who is in close physical contact with someone infected with monkeypox, or their clothes or sheets, is at risk of becoming infected, regardless of their sexual orientation.
People with monkeypox often experience symptoms such as fever, body aches, and rashes; most recover within weeks without the need for medical attention.
Monkeypox in Africa mainly affects people who come in contact with infected wildlife, such as rodents or primates. There are about 1,500 reported cases of monkeypox, including 70 deaths, in the Congo, Cameroon and the Central African Republic.
To date, scientists have not found any mutations in the monkeypox virus that suggest it is more transmissible or deadly, although the number of changes found indicates that the virus is likely to spread undetected for years.
The version of the disease transmitted outside Africa usually has a mortality rate below 1%, while the version observed in Africa can kill up to 10% of those affected.
The WHO is also setting up a mechanism to share monkeypox vaccines, which could make vaccines go to rich countries like Britain, which currently has the largest outbreak outside Africa.
Some experts have warned that this could reinforce the deep inequalities between rich and poor countries during the coronavirus pandemic.
“France, Germany, the United States and the United Kingdom already have many resources and many vaccines to deal with this and do not need WHO vaccines,” said Dr Irwin Redlener, a disaster preparedness and response expert in Colombia. university.
“What we need to do is try to help countries in Africa where monkeypox has been endemic and largely neglected,” he said. “Monkeypox is not COVID, but our attention should not be so distorted that it becomes a problem only when seen in rich countries.
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