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LONDON — Members of a World Health Organization (WHO) expert panel are split on whether the monkeypox outbreak constitutes a global health emergency, but the agency’s director-general may still issue the maximum alert on Saturday, two sources close to the decision said. to Reuters.
The committee, which met on Thursday, provides advice to WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, who is responsible for making the final decision on whether to declare a global health emergency.
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Tedros has always followed the panel’s recommendation in the past, but the sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said he was seriously considering declaring the agency’s highest alert level despite the lack of a majority opinion because of his concern about urgency. of the situation.
The WHO is due to hold a press conference at 13:00 GMT on Saturday to announce its final decision.
The label – “public health emergency of international concern” – currently applies only to the coronavirus pandemic and ongoing efforts to eradicate polio.
In recent weeks, pressure has been mounting from scientists and public health experts on the WHO and national governments to take more action against monkeypox. There are now more than 14,000 reported cases and five deaths from 71 WHO member states.
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When the commission first met in late June, there were only about 3,000 cases.
The WHO warning serves to raise alarm and could also unlock funding and global collaborative efforts to share vaccines and treatments.
There are already effective treatments and vaccines against monkeypox, but they are in short supply. The WHO has also been providing advice and updates since the start of the outbreak in early May.
At the first meeting of the expert commission, the group said it would reconsider its position on declaring a state of emergency if the outbreak escalates.
In Europe and the United States, cases have almost entirely been reported among men who have sex with men, and the commission also said it would review if other groups began to report cases, particularly children or others who were more vulnerable to the virus in past outbreaks in endemic countries.
On Friday, the United States identified its first two cases of monkeypox in children.
Any changes to the virus itself, which spreads through close contact and causes lesions and flu-like symptoms, could also prompt a rethink, the committee said.
The group is now divided between those who believe declaring a state of emergency would speed up efforts to contain the disease and those who do not think it meets the criteria because it has not yet spread to new groups of people or has high death rate, the sources said. (Reporting by Jennifer Rigby Editing by Helen Popper)
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