Geneva: In a reassuring development, the World Health Organization (WHO) said that the monkeypox outbreak was a deeply concerning evolving threat but did not constitute a global health emergency right now.
WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus had met experts earlier this week to be advised on whether to sound the strongest alarm of the UN health agency.
“The emergency committee shared serious concerns about the scale and speed of the current outbreak noting many unknowns about the spread and gaps in the data,” Tedros said.
“They advised me that at this moment the event does not constitute a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC), which is the highest level of alert WHO can issue, but recognized that the convening of the committee itself reflects the increasing concern about the international spread of monkeypox,” Tedros added.
WHO pointed out that over 3,500 confirmed monkeypox cases have been detected across 58 countries and ‘concerted global action’ is necessary to stop further spread.
World Health Network (WHN), a global task force comprising scientists and doctors, declared monkeypox as a ‘pandemic’ and wanted WHO to act.
Around 3,200 confirmed cases, including one death, have been reported to the WHO from more than 50 countries since May.
Acknowledging that the outbreak was “clearly an evolving health threat’, Tedros said immediate action is necessary to stop further spread, using surveillance, contact-tracing, isolation and care of patients, and ensuring vaccines and treatments are available to at-risk populations.
The members of the expert committee will be watching the situation closely and reconvene as and when necessary.
Bhubaneswar: After several Biju Janata Dal (BJD) leaders blamed VK Pandian for the regional party’s…
Mumbai: The Congress-National Conference (NC) alliance which formed the government in Jammu & Kashmir after winning…
New Delhi: It was the last day in office for Dhananjaya Yeshwant Chandrachud as Chief…
Cuttack: The Orissa High Court has refused to quash a criminal case against a lawyer…
Bhubaneswar: The cyclonic circulation over southwest Bay of Bengal is likely to intensify into a…
Bhubaneswar: Activists of the students’ wing of Odisha Congress staged a demonstration and threw eggs…
Bhubaneswar: Mahila Police in Bhubaneswar on Friday detained a Kashmiri Muslim youth, Samir Mansoor, for…
Keonjhar: A woman Revenue Inspector (RI) reportedly fainted after Ghasipura Tehsildar in Odisha’s Keonjhar district…