Is Monkeypox A Global Health Emergency? WHO To Take Call In Review Meet On June 23

So far, 1,600 confirmed cases of monkeypox and 1,500 suspected cases have been detected this year, including 72 deaths.

The World Health Organization (WHO) on Tuesday said that it would chair an emergency meeting on June 23 to determine whether to classify the monkeypox outbreak as a public health emergency of international concern. Speaking about the issue, WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus termed the monkeypox outbreak as 'unusual' and 'concerning'.

"The outbreak of monkeypox is unusual and concerning. For that reason I have decided to convene the Emergency Committee under the international health regulations next week, to assess whether this outbreak represents a public health emergency of international concern," news agency AFP quoted Ghebreyesus as saying.

The classification of the virus in the scheduled meeting will be highest level of warning issued by the United Nations agency, which currently applies only to the Covid-19 pandemic and polio.

So far, 1,600 confirmed cases of monkeypox and 1,500 suspected cases have been detected this year, including 72 deaths. WHO informed that cases have been reported in as many as 39 countries. 

Ghebreyesus also said that it was time to consider stepping up the response because the virus is behaving unusually, more countries are affected, and there is a need for international co-ordination.

According to WHO, the monkeypox virus can spread through any kind of sustained skin-to-skin contact with an infected person who has a lesion. It can also spread through body fluids, contaminated bed sheets and clothing, or respiratory droplets if a person has a lesion in their mouth.

No cases of monkeypox have been reported in India so far. However, in the view of the increasing number of cases being reported from the non-endemic countries, the Union Health Ministry has issued 'Guidelines on Management of Monkeypox Disease'.

The guidelines have been issued as part of a proactive and risk-based approach for management of Monkeypox and to ensure advance preparedness across the country.

The guidelines stress on surveillance and rapid identification of new cases as the key public health measures for outbreak containment, mandating the need to reduce the risk of human-to-human transmission.