The World Health Organization (WHO) announced on Tuesday that it will convene a meeting of its emergency committee on June 23 to assess whether monkeypox represents a “public health emergency of international concern”.
(Also read: Monkeypox: why would the WHO change its name and what would it be?)
The current proliferation of cases is “unusual and worrying”, declared its director Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus during a press conference, to justify this future meeting.
Ghebreyesus put the number of countries that have reported monkeypox cases in the current outbreak at 39, with 1,600 confirmed cases, 1,300 suspected cases, and 79 deaths.
“There have been internal deliberations, but now, given the expansion, we have convened the emergency commission,” said the director.
(You may be interested in: Monkeypox: Latin American countries that have already reported cases)
Monkeypox is a non-fatal disease that can cause fever, headache, muscle or back pain, swollen lymph nodes, chills, and fatigue. Rashes (on the face, palms of the hands, soles of the feet), lesions, pustules, and finally scabs then appear.
Your symptoms usually go away within two to three weeks.
Monkeypox is endemic in 11 countries in West and Central Africa, but significant numbers of cases have occurred in countries considered non-endemic.
For the head of the WHO, it is clear that the current situation is “unusual, that the virus behaves differently from the past and affects more countries.” In that commission, next week, the organization’s technicians will listen to the affected countries before giving a coordinated response.
(Also: Monkeypox: Venezuela detects the first case in the country)
We want help from the experts for a quick control of the virus
The head of emergency response at the WHO, Ibrahima Socé Fall, also said that the risk is being evaluated, that in Europe it is “high” and in the rest of the world “moderate”, and that there are gaps in knowledge about this virus. .
“We want help from the experts for a rapid control” of the virus, so that the emergency commission can make decisions “before it is out of control.”
For her part, the monkeypox expert Rosemund Lewis was in favor of the countries in which it is present creating awareness in the population about the levels of risk and how to prevent its spread.
That smallpox has been known for decades, said Dr. Lewis, who recalled that there are many cases that do not present serious symptoms, but rather limited skin lesions, but warned about the need to make people aware of the obligation to isolate themselves when has diagnosed.
“Up to four weeks later it can be infected,” said the expert, who stressed that the smallpox vaccine can be useful but it is old and more research is needed because there is a lack of data on its application to this virus.
(Keep reading: Patient infected with monkeypox escaped from the hospital in Mexico)
The WHO director-general stressed that the organization does not recommend mass vaccination and, although classic smallpox can protect, there is not a large supply.
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus also spoke about the coronavirus pandemic, of which he highlighted that cases have been reduced by ninety percent compared to the peak at the beginning of the year, but he clarified that there are two million cases in the world per week and 6,400 dead.
“We cannot afford these figures, because there are tools to prevent and treat,” said the head of the WHO, who advocated continuing research to understand the origin of covid-19 and “avoid future epidemics. We ask China to collaborate.”
*With information from AFP and EFE
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