The monkeypox outbreak has now been declared a global health emergency by the World Health Organization. The classification is the highest alert the WHO can issue and follows a worldwide upsurge in cases. WHO director-general Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has said that More than 16,000 cases have now been reported from 75 countries. The virus was declared a global health emergency in the second meeting; so far, five deaths have been recorded since the outbreak began.
Dr. Tedros said it was challenging for the committee to conclude whether the monkeypox outbreak should be classified as a global health emergency. However, the widespread use of the virus has raised international concern; hence, it was declared a global health emergency.
Dr. Tedros said that it is still a mystery about the new transmission modes that have allowed it to spread. He has said that "the WHO assesses that the risk of monkeypox is moderate globally and in all the regions except in the European region, where we assess the risk as high. There was also a clear risk of further international spread, although the risk of interference with the international traffic remained low for the moment."
According to him, declaring a global health emergency would help to speed up the development of the vaccines and the implementation of measures to limit the spread of the virus. The WHO is also issuing recommendations that it hopes will spur countries to take action to stop transmission of the virus and protect those most at risk.
He has said that this is an outbreak that can be stopped with the right strategies in the right groups.