Director-General Ghebreyesus: Emergency Committee Convening Signifies Growing Concerns
WHO Calls for Member States' Mutual Cooperation and Information Sharing
[Asia Economy International Desk Reporter] Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), announced on the 25th (local time) that the international spread of monkeypox will not be designated as a 'Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC)' at this time.
In a statement on the same day, Director-General Ghebreyesus said, "At this point, this event is not considered to meet the criteria for the highest level of alert issued by WHO, which is an emergency."
WHO held an emergency committee meeting on the 23rd to discuss this issue. Although there were some disagreements, the overall conclusion was as such, Ghebreyesus reported.
An emergency is the highest level of alert issued by WHO concerning diseases that are spreading globally. Currently, it only applies to COVID-19, for which the emergency was declared at the end of January 2020.
However, Director-General Ghebreyesus warned, "The very convening of the emergency committee reflects growing concerns about the international spread of monkeypox," adding, "Monkeypox is clearly an evolving health threat." He explained, "The risk of rapid and sustained spread to new countries and regions, or continued transmission among vulnerable populations including immunocompromised individuals, pregnant women, and children, makes the current outbreak particularly concerning." He further emphasized, "Joint attention and organized action are necessary to prevent further spread of monkeypox through public health measures such as surveillance, contact tracing, isolation, and patient care, and to equitably provide vaccines and treatments to those at risk," urging WHO member states to cooperate and share information.
Monkeypox is a viral disease known to be endemic in some Central and West African countries, but it has suddenly spread in the United States, Europe, and other regions since May. In the past six weeks, confirmed cases of monkeypox in non-endemic areas have reached 3,200 across 48 countries.
Monkeypox was named after the virus was first discovered in monkeys in 1958. Human transmission was first confirmed in 1970.
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