Twice in Two Years: WHO Declares Global Health Emergency For The Rapid Spread of Monkeypox
The World Health Organization took a massive step in declaring monkeypox a global health emergency on Saturday, which has rapidly spread to 75 countries infecting tens of thousands of people.
The W.H.O.’s director general, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus parted with a panel of advisors, who could not make a final decision, and declared monkeypox a “public health emergency of international concern.” This is the first time that the director general has broken deadlock and bypassed his advising panel to declare an emergency of this nature.
Currently, this terminology is only used to describe two other diseases, Covid-19 and polio. Dr. Tedros argued that monkeypox meets the criteria for this designation because it is spreading rapidly “through new modes of transmission, about which we understand too little.”
This declaration is designed to set in motion an international response, possibly unlocking funding resources in order to determine proper treatments and courses of action to limit the spread of the disease.
Dr. Tedros said the risk of monkeypox remains moderate globally, however, in Europe, the W.H.O. rated the risk as high. Monkeypox spreads by close contact, causing flu-like symptoms and skin lesions.
According to Dr. Tedros, “for the moment this is an outbreak that is concentrated among men who have sex with men, especially those with multiple sexual partners.”
“Stigma and discrimination can be as dangerous as any virus,” he additionally warned.
In May, President Joe Biden warned that the increasing number of cases of monkeypox globally was something to be concerned about. Biden told reporters that the disease could be “consequential,” adding that the White House administration is looking into possible treatments and vaccinations.
This is the second time in two years that the W.H.O. has declared a global public health emergency, placing Covid-19 under the same label in January of 2020.
As of Saturday, the United States has recorded nearly 3,000 cases of monkeypox, with the real number thought to be much higher due to a lack of testing.
