The head of the World Health Organization (WHO) has declared the monkeypox outbreak a “global health emergency”. Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a news conference that despite the WHO committee being unable to reach a consensus, it declared the emergency anyway.
He added that the risk globally is “moderate”, except in Europe, where it is “high”.
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The WHO statement is designed to trigger an international response to the outbreak, which could unlock financing and sharing of vaccines. The disease has been entrenched in parts of central and western Africa for decades, and was not known to trigger large outbreaks beyond the continent global heath emergency.
Last month, however, authorities in the US and Western Europe detected dozens of outbreaks.
Monkeypox joins COVID-19, Ebola and Zika on the list of previously declared global health emergency.
Gay and bisexual men are disproportionately affected by the spread of the virus, with 98% of those infected from this group.
The NHS website currently lists a high temperature, headache, muscle aches, back pain, swollen glands, chills and exhaustion as symptoms.
The head of the World Health Organization (WHO) has declared the monkeypox outbreak a “global health emergency”.
Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a news conference that despite the WHO committee being unable to reach a consensus, it declared the emergency anyway. Monkeypox declared a global health emergency by the World Health Organisation, as the risk in Europe is described as ‘high’
The head of the World Health Organization said the committee was unable to decide whether to declare an emergency but decided to do so anyway.
