WHO declares monkey flu a global emergency

London – The World Health Organization On Saturday, it was pointed out that the spread of monkeypox in more than 70 countries was an “extraordinary” situation. It now qualifies as a global emergency.

The decision will spur greater investment in treating the previously rare disease and sharpen the fight for vaccines that are in short supply.

Despite the lack of consensus among WHO emergency committee members, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus decided to release the report. This is the first time that the head of the UN’s health organization has taken such a step.

“In short, we have an outbreak that has spread rapidly through new modes of transmission that we understand very little about and that meets the criteria of international health regulation,” Tedros said.

“I know that this is not an easy or simple process and that there are differing opinions among the members of the committee,” he added.

Although monkey flu had been established in parts of central and west Africa for decades, it did not appear to cause major outbreaks beyond the continent or spread widely among people until May, when officials detected dozens of outbreaks in Europe, North America and elsewhere. .

A global emergency declaration is that the monkeypox outbreak is an “extraordinary event” that could spread to many countries and requires a coordinated global response. The WHO has previously declared emergencies for public health crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic, the Ebola outbreak in West Africa in 2014, the Zika virus in Latin America in 2016, and ongoing efforts to eradicate polio.

An emergency declaration above all helps to attract more resources and global attention to an outbreak. Previous announcements have had a mixed effect, with the UN’s health agency largely powerless to compel countries to act.

In Puerto Rico, the Department of Health 11 have confirmed monkey fever. The outbreak, which was detected on the island last month, was already in the community transmission phase when local disease registries began.

A leading authority on health epidemiology, Dr. Melissa Marzan on Monday urged doctors and health care providers to be alert to signs and symptoms of the disease and to contact the agency immediately if they suspect a case. “There is a 24-hour hotline for health providers who suspect cases of monkey fever to call the health agency directly,” he said. The phone number for that line is 787-404-5561.