It is possible to end the rapid outbreak of Monkeypox, a World Health Organisation official said on Tuesday. However, a few days ago, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that the epidemic is at the highest degree of alert for a global health emergency and in fact, the world organisation later declared monkeypox as a global emergency. Rosmand Lewis, WHO technical lead on Monkeypox told the reporters, “We do at this moment still believe that this outbreak of monkeypox can be stopped with the right strategies in the right groups but time is going by and we all need to pull together to make that happen,” Reuters reported.
The virus was first discovered in monkeys and is spread primarily through close contact with an infected person.
A public health emergency of international concern as defined by the WHO is intended to prompt a coordinated global response and may make money available for cooperation on the sharing of vaccinations and treatments.
Also read | Monkeypox outbreak: All that you need to know about the virus
The official further said, “WHO is still working towards determining a global coordination mechanism. At the moment, it’s something that’s still in discussion,” Reuters reported.
Also read | The nitty-gritty of Monkeypox
The viral illness has just recently started to spread outside of Africa, where it is endemic. But as of early May reports of a few cases in Britain indicated that the outbreak has reached Europe.
More than 75 nations have confirmed more than 16,000 confirmed cases of monkeypox this year. However, as per the technical lead, Lewis asserted that the actual figure was probably higher. There have been five fatalities and deaths, which all happened in Africa.
(With inputs from agencies)
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