WHO declares monkeypox outbreak a public health emergency of international concern

The head of the World Health Organization (WHO), Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, has decided to declare the monkeypox outbreak a public health emergency of international concern.

He announced this after a meeting of the organization's emergency committee. After the previous meeting at the end of June, the opposite decision was made .

According to Ghebreyesus, the committee members did not reach a consensus on this issue, but the situation with the spread of the virus corresponds to the signs of an international emergency.

“In short, we have an outbreak that has spread rapidly around the world through new modes of transmission that we understand very little about and that meets the criteria for an international public health emergency,” he said.

According to the head of WHO, more than 16,000 suspected cases of monkeypox have been registered in 75 countries and territories to date, of which five have resulted in death.

• WHO has declared public health emergencies of international concern six times since 2007 (when the revised International Health Regulations came into force) – including for Covid, Ebola virus disease and Zika virus disease.