Amid the rising number of Monkeypox cases worldwide, the World Health Organization has declared the infection a global health emergency. It's the highest level of the alert issued by the UN health body.
"We have an outbreak that has spread around the world rapidly, through new modes of transmission, about which we understand too little, and which meets the criteria in the International Health Regulations," said the WHO chief said following IHR Emergency Committee regarding the multi-country outbreak of Monkeypox.
Monkeypox Represents A Public Health Emergency of International Concern
"For all of these reasons, I have decided that the global Monkeypox outbreak represents a public health emergency of international concern," he said.
It is the seventh time such a declaration has been made since 2009, the most recent being for Covid-19, which was given the same level by the WHO in 2020 and follows a meeting of a committee of experts on Thursday, according to The Guardian.
Outbreak is Concentrated Among Men
Tedros also underlined that although the WHO is declaring Monkeypox a public health emergency of international concern "but for the moment this is an outbreak that is concentrated among men who have sex with men, especially those with multiple sexual partners."
16,000 Monkeypox Cases Reported From 75 Countries
There are now more than 16 thousand reported cases from 75 countries and territories, and five deaths.
Outbreak Can Be Stopped With The Right Strategies
However, Tedros has highlighted that the outbreak can be stopped with the right strategies in the right groups.
Countries Advised to Work Closely With Communities of Men
He also underlined that it's therefore essential that all countries work closely with communities of men who have sex with men, to design and deliver effective information and services, and to adopt measures that protect the health, human rights and dignity of affected communities.
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