WHO Director-General of the Center, Adanom Gebregesus, said on Tuesday that he had decided to convene the emergency committee on June 23rd because the virus had shown “unusual” recent behavior, spreading to countries far beyond Africa where it is endemic.
“We believe that a coordinated response is also needed due to the geographical spread,” he told reporters.
Declaring monkey pox as an international health emergency would give it the same characterization as the COVID-19 pandemic and would mean that the WHO considers the usually rare disease to be a continuing threat to countries worldwide.
The United Kingdom said Monday it had 470 cases of smallpox across the country, with the vast majority in homosexual or bisexual men. British scientists said last week that they could not figure out if the spread of the disease in the UK had peaked.
The meeting of external experts could also help improve understanding and knowledge about the virus, Tentros said, as the WHO published new guidelines on monkeypox vaccination.
The UN Health Service does not recommend mass vaccination, but advises “prudent” use of vaccines. He said disease control is mainly based on measures such as surveillance, case monitoring and patient isolation.
Last month, a top World Health Organization adviser said the outbreak in Europe and beyond had probably spread through sex on two recent raves in Spain and Belgium.
Scientists warn that anyone, regardless of sexual orientation, can catch monkey pox if they are in close, physical contact with an infected person or his or her clothes or sheets.
The WHO is working with partner countries to set up a mechanism by which certain smallpox vaccines – a related disease – could be made available to affected countries as research continues into their effectiveness against the new epidemic.
The Center said more than 1,600 cases and nearly 1,500 suspected cases have been reported this year in 39 countries, including seven where monkey pox has been reported for years. A total of 72 deaths have been reported, but none in the countries most recently affected, such as Britain, Canada, Italy, Poland, Spain and the United States.
The ongoing outbreak of monkey pox in Europe and elsewhere marks the first time the disease has been reported to spread to people without travel links to Africa.
