London, June 26 / BNA / The World Health Organization said that the escalating outbreak of monkeypox in more than 50 countries should be closely monitored, but it does not guarantee declaring a global health emergency.
The World Health Organization’s emergency committee said in a statement that many aspects of the outbreak were “extraordinary” and acknowledged that monkeypox – an endemic disease in some African countries – had been neglected for years, the Associated Press reported.
“While a few members expressed differing views, the committee unanimously decided to inform the Director-General of WHO that at this point the outbreak should be determined not to constitute a ‘global health emergency,'” the WHO said in a statement.
However, the World Health Organization referred to the “emergency nature” of the outbreak and said that controlling its spread would require an “intense” response.
The commission said the outbreak should be “closely monitored and reviewed after a few weeks”. But it will recommend a reassessment before then if certain new developments arise – such as cases among sex workers; spread to other countries or within countries that already have cases; Increasing severity of cases. or an increased prevalence.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus convened an emergency committee meeting on Thursday after expressing concern about the monkeypox epidemic in countries that had not previously reported the disease.
“What makes the current outbreak particularly worrying is the rapid and continuing spread to new countries and regions and the risk of more sustainable transmission to vulnerable populations including people with immunodeficiency, pregnant women and children,” the WHO chief said.
Monkeypox has infected people for decades in Central and West Africa, but until last month, the disease was not known to cause large outbreaks in multiple countries at the same time and include people without travel links to the continent.
Declaring a global health emergency means that a health crisis is an “extraordinary” event that requires a globally managed response and that the disease is at high risk of spreading across borders. The World Health Organization has previously made similar declarations for diseases including COVID-19, Ebola in Congo and West Africa, Zika in Brazil, and ongoing efforts to eradicate polio.
The emergency declaration is often a plea to attract more global resources and attention to the outbreak. Previous announcements have had a mixed effect, given that the WHO is largely helpless when trying to persuade countries to act.
The World Health Organization said this week it had confirmed more than 3,200 cases of monkeypox in about 40 countries that had not previously reported the disease. The vast majority of cases are in gay, bisexual or heterosexual men and more than 80% of cases are in Europe.
A senior adviser to the World Health Organization said last month that the rise in cases in Europe was likely linked to sexual activity by men in two raves in Spain and Belgium, speculating that its emergence in the gay and bisexual community was a “random event”. British officials said most cases in the UK involved men who reported having sex with other men.
Scientists warn that anyone who has close physical contact with a person with monkeypox, or their clothes or sheets, are at risk of contracting the disease, regardless of their sexual orientation.
People with monkeypox often have symptoms such as fever, body aches, and a rash. Most recover within weeks without the need for medical attention.
Monkeypox in Africa mostly affects people who come into contact with infected wild animals, such as rodents or primates.
About 1,500 cases of monkeypox, including 70 deaths, have been reported in Congo, Cameroon and Central African Republic.
So far, scientists have not found any mutations in monkeypox virus that suggest it is more transmissible or lethal, although the number of detected changes shows that the virus has likely been spreading undetected for years.
The version of the disease transmitted outside Africa typically has a mortality rate of less than 1%, while the version seen in Africa can kill up to 10% of those infected.
The World Health Organization is also working on a mechanism to share vaccines against monkeypox, which could see vaccines reach wealthy countries such as Britain, which currently has the largest outbreak outside Africa.
Some experts have warned that this could entrench the deep disparities that have been seen between rich and poor countries during the coronavirus pandemic.
“France, Germany, the United States and the United Kingdom already have a lot of resources and a lot of vaccines to deal with this and they don’t need WHO vaccines,” said Dr. Erwin Redliner, an expert in disaster preparedness and response at Columbia University. .
“What we should do is try to help countries in Africa where monkeypox has been largely endemic and neglected,” he said. “Monkeypox is not a COVID disease, but our attention should not be so distorted that it becomes a problem only when seen in rich countries.”