WHO declares monkeypox a global emergency, sounding the health agency’s highest alarm
- ‘The global monkeypox outbreak represents a public health emergency of international concern,’ said WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus
- Monkeypox has affected more than 16,800 people in 74 countries, according to a tally by the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention
The World Health Organization on Saturday declared the monkeypox outbreak, which has affected nearly 17,000 people in 74 countries, to be a global health emergency – the highest alarm it can sound.
“I have decided that the global monkeypox outbreak represents a public health emergency of international concern,” WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said at a press conference.
01:28
What is monkeypox and should we be worried that it’s spreading?
He said a committee of experts who met on Thursday was unable to reach a consensus, so it fell to him to decide whether to trigger the highest alert possible.
“WHO’s assessment is that the risk of monkeypox is moderate globally and in all regions, except in the European region where we assess the risk as high,” he added.
01:28
World Health Organization declares monkeypox a public health emergency
A surge in monkeypox infections has been reported since early May outside the West and Central African countries where the disease has long been endemic.