Monkeypox declared a global health emergency by WHO amid surge in cases

World Health Organization (WHO) on Saturday at its emergency committee meeting raised its highest ever alert on the monkeypox outbreak by declaring it a global health emergency.

The declaration means that the WHO designates the virus outbreak as a significant threat to global health that warrants an international response.

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According to WHO director-general Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, more than 16,000 cases of the virus have been reported from 75 countries across the globe.

“We have an outbreak that has spread around the world rapidly, through new modes of transmission, about which we understand too little.For all of these reasons, I have decided that the global monkeypox outbreak represents a public health emergency of international concern." said Dr Tedros.

WHO director-general took the call himself

However, it is interesting to note that the Health Regulations Emergency Committee which had remained undivided on declaring the outbreak a 'global emergency' in a meeting last month had not differed in its stance in the Saturday meeting as well. Nine members were against and six were in favour of the declaration.

Reportedly, the WHO director-general, in an unusual departure from the protocol, took the call himself and declared an emergency anyway.

It is pertinent to note that the last time WHO issued such a global health emergency, it was for COVID-19, back in early 2020. The entire planet was soon brought to a standstill as the virus created havoc.

While WHO has sounded the alarm with its declaration, it cannot mandate the countries and their governments to swing into action immediately. All WHO can do is issue guidelines and give its expertise as well as recommendations to the member countries. The final call of action resides with the national governments.

Read More:Monkeypox: New study shows symptoms are making recognition of case more difficult

While Europe is the global epicentre of the outbreak, reporting 80 per cent of the cases, the numbers are rising steadily in the USA as well. There were 2,593 confirmed monkeypox cases in the USA.

Moreover, asreportedby WION on Friday, US health officials detected two cases of monkeypox in children while the Centers for Disease Control Prevention and Control (CDC) stated that kids under 8 were at 'increased risk'.

Read More:US health officials detect monkeypox virus among kids

The symptoms of the virus include fever, headache, muscle ache, tiredness and swollen lymph nodes. The virus has spread rapidly in Europe and United States after it was first detected in May. Although there is no specific treatment for the monkeypox virus, the CDC has recommended antivirals such as tecovirimat.

(This is a developing story. More updates to follow)

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