WHO declares monkeypox an international public health emergency

The Director-General of the World Health Organization said in a press conference, after the meeting of the Health Committee: An emergency to assess the development of the disease in the world.

In light of this, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus declared that “the global outbreak of monkeypox is a public health emergency of international concern,” and made recommendations for four groups of countries.

The Director-General of the World Health Organization said that the first group includes countries that have not yet reported cases of monkeypox or that have not had a history of infection for more than 21 days, adding that the second group includes countries with and with newly imported cases. Transmission between humans.

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus explained that the third group of countries are those that transmit the virus between animals and humans, and the fourth includes countries that have the ability to produce tests, vaccines and treatments.

As he said, the emergency committee for monkeypox, which met on Thursday for the second time to assess the evolution of the outbreak, did not reach a consensus, but the assessment of the World Health Organization is that the risk is moderate at the global level, with the exception of Europe. where it is considered high.

The Director-General explained that his decision to declare a public health emergency of international concern was based on information showing that the virus had spread rapidly globally, even in countries without a previous record of infection, as well as in “many emergencies” given that the data is still insufficient. about monkeypox.

“I know that this process was not easy or simple and that there are divergent views among members,” said Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, noting that the current outbreak is mainly focused on “men who have sex with men, especially those with multiple sexual partners.”

This means this outbreak “can be stopped with the right strategies in the right groups,” the WHO official stressed, warning that “stigma and discrimination can be as dangerous as any virus.”

At the first meeting of the Emergency Committee, held a month ago, experts did not reach consensus on whether monkeypox was a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC), at a time when 3,040 cases were reported from 47 countries.

A PHEIC is defined as an “unusual, dangerous, sudden, unusual or unexpected event” with public health effects that transcend the national borders of the affected country and that may require immediate international action.

This is the seventh time the WHO has declared an international emergency (the mechanism started in 2005), having done so for influenza A in 2009, for Ebola in 2014 and 2018, polio in 2014, Zika in 2017 and for the virus covid-19 coronavirus in 2020, the latter still in effect.

According to the latest data from the Directorate General of Health (DGS), Portugal has a total of 588 confirmed cases of monkeypox virus.

According to the DGS, a sick person is no longer contagious until after complete recovery and crusting of the skin lesions, a period that may eventually exceed four weeks.

The most common symptoms of the disease are fever, severe headache, muscle aches, back pain, fatigue, and swollen lymph nodes with a progressive rash affecting the skin and mucous membranes.