Monkeypox – WHO declares a global emergency

Monkeypox has been all over the news worldwide the last few months.

It is caused by the monkeypox virus, which belongs to a subset of the Poxviridae family of viruses called Orthopoxvirus.

This subset includes:

1. Smallpox
2. Vaccinia
3. Cowpox viruses

The virus is endemic in some animal populations in a number of countries, leading to occasional outbreaks among local people and travelers.

Global Emergency

The expanding monkeypox outbreak in more than 70 countries is now considered a global emergency, according to the head of the World Health Organization. This declaration, made on Saturday, may encourage additional funding for the once-rare disease’s treatment and exacerbate the competition for limited vaccine supplies.

Despite the emergency committee’s members being divided, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus decided to make the declaration. It was the first time the head of the UN health organization had done something like that.

“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 said.

“I know this has not been an easy or straightforward process and that there are divergent views among the members” of the committee, he added.

Monkeypox has existed in some areas of central and west Africa for decades, but until May, when officials discovered dozens of infections in Europe, North America, and other places, it was not known to cause significant outbreaks outside of the continent or to spread significantly among people.

When a worldwide emergency is declared, it signifies that the monkeypox outbreak is an “exceptional event”, and that it may spread to other nations and necessitates a coordinated international response. For public health emergencies like the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2014 West African Ebola outbreak, the Zika virus in Latin America in 2016, and the ongoing campaign to eradicate polio, WHO has already proclaimed emergencies.

The emergency declaration mainly acts as an appeal to focus more resources and attention on an outbreak on a worldwide scale. Previous announcements

WHO’s top monkeypox expert, Dr. Rosamund Lewis, said this week that 99% of all the monkeypox cases beyond Africa were in men and that of those, 98% involved men who have sex with men. Experts suspect the monkeypox outbreaks in Europe and North America were spread via sex at two raves in Belgium and Spain.

“Although I am declaring a public health emergency of international concern for the moment, this is an outbreak that is concentrated among men who have sex with men, especially those with multiple sexual partners,” Tedros said.

“That means that this is an outbreak that can be stopped with the right strategies in the right groups.”

Monkeypox spreads differently from COVID-19

WHO advises individuals to stay informed on the severity of the outbreak in their community (if there is one), the symptoms, and prevention from trustworthy sources, such as national health authorities.

The fact that it spreads through close touch, as opposed to how COVID-19 spreads, is an essential factor.

Health professionals, family members, and romantic partners who have frequent close contact with infectious people are more likely to become ill.

It is never appropriate to stigmatize a group of people because they have an illness. It can be a challenge to contain an outbreak since it discourages people from seeking medical attention and promotes undetected spread.

• For more updates, you can visit the official WHO website.