World Health Organization chief says monkeypox is now a global emergency
The news that monkeypox has been declared a global emergency comes a day after the U.S. reported its first two cases of the infection in children.
eu.usatoday.com
LONDON — The World Health Organization said the expanding monkeypox outbreak in more than 70 countries is an "extraordinary" situation that now qualifies as a global emergency, a declaration Saturday that could spur further investment in treating the once-rare disease and worsen the scramble for scarce vaccines.
Although monkeypox has been established in parts of central and west Africa for decades, it was not known to spark large outbreaks beyond the continent or to spread widely among people until May, when authorities detected dozens of epidemics in Europe, North America and elsewhere.
Declaring a global emergency means the monkeypox outbreak is an "extraordinary event" that could spill over into more countries and requires a coordinated global response. WHO previously declared emergencies for public health crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2014 West African Ebola outbreak, the Zika virus in Latin America in 2016 and the ongoing effort to eradicate polio.
The emergency declaration mostly serves as a plea to draw more global resources and attention to an outbreak. Past announcements had mixed impact, given that the U.N. health agency is largely powerless in getting countries to act.
Imo way too late. Been strange to observe how casual people can be about exponential growth. It was a bit uncertain around May sure, but near the end of June we had so many weeks of exponetial growth that bells should have been ringing. But better late than never I guess. Meanwhile US has overtaken Germany and UK in the number of cases and seems to be on a trajectory to overtake Spain in a few weeks.
Last edited:
