WHO: Monkeypox not a global health emergency yet

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
26 Jun 2022 19:20

In response to the global Monkeypox outbreak, which was declared a public health emergency of international concern, the WHO did not activate its highest alert level.

The vast majority of new cases have been reported in Western Europe.

The World Health Organization's chief said on Saturday that while the monkeypox outbreak was a grave concern, it did not yet constitute a global health emergency.

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of WHO, convened a committee of experts on Thursday to advise him on whether to issue the UN health agency's strongest warning about the outbreak.

There has been an increase in monkeypox cases outside of the West and Central African countries where the disease has long been endemic since early May. The vast majority of new cases have been reported in Western Europe.

This year, more than 3,200 confirmed cases and one death have been reported to the WHO from more than 50 countries.

"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 recognised that the convening of the committee itself reflects the increasing concern about the international spread of monkeypox."

Tedros described the outbreak as "clearly an evolving health threat" that required immediate action to prevent further spread, including surveillance, contact tracing, patient isolation and care, and ensuring vaccines and treatments are available to at-risk populations.

Knowledge gaps

The committee that looked into the matter was chaired by Jean-Marie Okwo-Bele, a former director of the WHO's Vaccines and Immunisation Department.

The five-hour private meeting on Thursday was held both in-person and via video conference at the WHO's Geneva headquarters.

The committee discussed current observations of case numbers plateauing or potentially declining in some countries, difficulties in contact tracing due to anonymous contacts, and "potential links to international gatherings and LGBTQI+ Pride events conducive to increased opportunities for exposure through intimate sexual encounters."

They were also concerned that stigmatizing affected groups would impede response efforts. They stated that there are knowledge gaps regarding transmission modes, the infectious period, as well as access to vaccines and antivirals and their efficacy.

Blistery rash

A high fever, swollen lymph nodes, and a blistery chickenpox-like rash are typical initial symptoms of monkeypox.

The initial outbreak cases had no epidemiological ties to areas where monkeypox had previously been reported, implying that undetected transmission had been occurring for some time.

To date, only a few people have been hospitalized, and ten cases have been reported among health care workers.

The WHO's current plan for containing the spread focuses on increasing awareness among affected population groups, as well as encouraging safe behaviors and protective measures.

Since 2009, there have been six PHEIC declarations, the most recent being for Covid-19 in 2020 – though the slow global response to the alarm bell continues to irritate WHO headquarters.

On January 30, a PHEIC was declared following the third emergency committee meeting. But it wasn't until Tedros described the rapidly worsening situation as a pandemic on March 11 that many countries seemed to realize the danger.