The World Health Organisation has declared the global monkeypox outbreak a public health emergency of international concern.
After the recent Emergency Committee meeting pertaining to the multi-country outbreak, WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus released a statement focused on five elements in “deciding whether an outbreak constitutes a public health emergency of international concern”. These were the factors that led to the decision:
The first relates to the information provided by countries, which has shown since May, that the virus has spread rapidly to countries that are not endemic to monkeypox. Second, the three criteria for deeming a global public health emergency have been met. Third, the Emergency Committee’s advice has been taken, although without consensus. Fourth, the many unknowns of evidence and other information under what Dr Tedros classed with scientific principles elevated the virus’ status. Lastly, the “risk to human health, international spread, and the potential interference with international traffic” lended to taking the concern to the next level.
The risk of monkeypox based on the aforementioned is “moderately global” in all regions except Europe, which is at high risk, according to Dr Tedros.
“In short, we have 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 in the International Health Regulations” Tedros summarised.
Following, recommendations to implement responses were made for four groups of countries. Countries that have not reported a case for more than 21 days mark the first cluster, those who have recently “imported” the virus earmark the second. These have been advised to utilise accelerated vaccines, therapeutics and other measures, “strengthen clinical management, infection prevention and control in hospitals” as well as to take recommendations on international travel from the WHO.
The third group that has seen transmission between animals and humans, and the fourth which sees countries that have manufacturing capacity for diagnostics, vaccines and therapeutics have also been advised by the WHO on similar measures,as well as intensifying survellience and public health measures for protection.
The WHO has commented that their main focus is on men who have sex with men, and took to implore those who have had experience in working with people with HIV to assist in fighting stigma and discrimination. Dr Tedros emphasised that “stigma and discrimination can be as dangerous as any virus” and reminded that despite their focus, diseases can affect anyone.
Al Jazeera relays a comment from Lawrence Gostin, Director of the WHO Centre on Global Health Law. Gostin says that “there should be contact tracing … widespread testing and a strategic deployment of vaccines to try and nip this in the bud. But the window for containment of monkeypox is rapidly closing and we fear that this could become endemic in Europe, North America and other parts of the world over the next months”.
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Picture: UK Health Security Agency/Science Photo Library
