Written By: Satata Karmakar | Updated : June 15, 2022 11:35 AM IST
Monkeypox To Be Declared An International Health Emergency? WHO Answers
The World Health Organisation (WHO) on Tuesday called the Monkeypox outbreak unusual and concerning after reports confirmed that over 16,000 cases of the infection have been registered globally. The global outbreak of monkeypox is "clearly unusual and concerning", WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told the media while addressing a press meeting on Tuesday in Geneva.
The chief of the global health body also announced to convene an emergency committee next week to assess whether this outbreak represents a public health emergency of international concern. "The global outbreak of monkeypox is unusual and concerning. It's for that reason that 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," he said.
The global health body had released a detailed guideline about the use of smallpox vaccines for treating monkeypox patients. however, addressing the press, the WHO chief said that the global health body does not support the mass vaccination against monkeypox. "While smallpox vaccines are expected to provide some protection against monkeypox, there is limited clinical data, and limited supply," he said, adding that any decision about whether to use vaccines should be made jointly by individuals who may be at risk and their healthcare provider, based on an assessment of risks and benefits, on a case-by-case basis.
"No, the monkeypox virus will not lead to a pandemic," says experts. In the last two and a half years, the world has seen the outbreak of the deadly COVID-19 virus. The panic which the COVID virus had created is still lingering in the minds of the people. Which is when the thought about another pandemic due to the arrival of a new virus is coming into the4 picture. However, the virus is not new to the environment. Monkeypox virus was present in the nature already, however, the outbreak of the virus outside the Africa is what experts are worried about.
