“Over the weekend, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared that the monkeypox outbreak spreading globally is a ‘public health emergency of international concern’ (PHEIC). Researchers hope that the declaration — the agency’s highest alarm — might serve as a wake-up call for countries as they struggle to contain the spread of the virus that causes monkeypox.
Since the first cases were detected outside Africa in May, more than 16,500 people have been confirmed infected in nearly 80 countries that don’t typically see cases. Monkeypox has been circulating in parts of Africa for decades.
This is the seventh time since the alarm system originated in 2005 that the WHO has declared a PHEIC — a step it reserves for events that pose a risk to multiple countries, and that require a coordinated international response (see ‘The highest alarm’). Two of those warnings, for COVID-19 and polio, are still in place.”
More on Monkeypox declared a global emergency: will it help contain the outbreak? via Nature.
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