The World Health Organization on Wednesday said that despite a dip in the number of cases, it still considers mpox, previously known as monkeypox, an international health emergency.
WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, as per AFP, reached this conclusion following the recommendations of the UN health agency’s emergency committee. The committee met last Friday.
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Speaking to the press, Tedros said, “the committee has advised me that in its view, mpox remains a global health emergency, and I have accepted that advice.”
Officials noticed a surge in what was earlier known as monkeypox infections last May. The surge outside African countries where the infection has long been an endemic was noticed among men who have sex with men. To date, 85,860 cases have been reported from 110 countries around the death; of these 93 according to the WHO figures, turned fatal.
The disease was first spotted in humans in 1970 in the Democratic Republic of the Congo region. Since then, the disease spread among humans has, for the most part, been limited to certain West and Central African nations.
However, last May, cases of the disease began spreading rapidly around the world. Following the sudden influx of cases, the WHO on July 23, 2022, triggered a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC).
Since then, the WHO’s emergency committee on mpox meets every three months to determine the validity of the said label. As per Tedros, while the committee acknowledged the progress made in reducing transmission of the diseases, 30 nations are still reporting cases. He also pointed out that in some of the regions, not all cases might have been detected and reported. Due to this, he said all countries should remain vigilant.
(With inputs from agencies)
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