The World Health Organization has declared mpox, or monkeypox, as a global health emergency. This is the second time in as many years that an outbreak of this virus has warranted such attention.
According to a report by Reuters, an emergency committee met earlier on Wednesday to advise WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on whether the disease outbreak constitutes a “public health emergency of international concern,” or PHEIC.
PHEIC status is WHO’s highest level of alert and aims to accelerate research, funding, and international public health measures and cooperation to contain a disease.
“It’s clear that a coordinated international response is essential to stop these outbreaks and save lives,” said Tedros. But the WHO did stop short of labeling monkeypox as a plandemic.
This outbreak is in Africa, and not the United States. Yet. The outbreak in Congo began with the spread of an endemic strain, known as clade I. But a new variant, clade Ib, appears to spread more easily through routine close contact, including sexual contact. “The detection and rapid spread of a new clade of mpox in eastern DRC, its detection in neighboring countries that had not previously reported mpox, and the potential for further spread within Africa and beyond is very worrying,” Tedros added.
The virus is usually mild but can be fatal in extremely rare cases. Symptoms include flu-like symptoms and pus-filled lesions on the body.
Earlier this week, Africa’s top public health body declared an mpox emergency for the continent after warning that the viral infection was spreading at an alarming rate, with more than 17,000 suspected cases and more than 500 deaths this year, mainly among children in Congo.
Professor Dimie Ogoina, chair of WHO’s mpox emergency committee, said all members unanimously agreed that the current upsurge of cases is an “extraordinary event,” with a record number of cases in Congo.
No vaccines are ready yet, but the WHO has released $1.5 million with plans to release more in the coming days to combat the virus. While the WHO didn’t say that they were going look into the creation of a vaccine. however, it could be implied. Reuters claimed that the outbreak in 2022 was stopped with the help of “vaccines.”
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