The World Health Organization (WHO) has raised the status of monkeypox, also known as mpox, to an international public health emergency, the agency’s highest alert level. The director general of the OMS, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesusconfirmed the decision after receiving the recommendation of the committee organization emergency.
“Today, the emergency committee informed me that the situation constitutes a public health emergency of international concern, and I have accepted this recommendation,” he said. Ghebreyesus during a press conference. The head of the WHO, backed by a group of experts, is the only one authorized to issue the statement.
The committee determined that the criteria for declaring an international public health emergency were met, the group’s chair explained, Dimie Ogoina. This statement follows a similar decision in 2022, when there was a global outbreak of monkeypox caused by the clade IIb strain.
The current epidemic, originating in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and which mainly affects Africa, is marked by a more contagious and dangerous strain, clade I, and its more virulent variant, clade Ib. The mortality rate of this strain is estimated at 3.6%.
The African Union has also declared a “public health emergency” on the continent in response to a significant increase in cases.
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2024-08-18 05:23:59