Monkeypox is now a global public health emergency, the head of the World Health Organization decided on Saturday. The viral disease is officially a Public Health Emergency of International Concern, putting it in the same league as polio and COVID-19.
In May, clusters of monkeypox cases were detected in the UK and Europe. Since then, 16,836 cases of monkeypox have emerged in 74 countries, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Monkeypox outbreaks have historically been much smaller, and occurred in central and western Africa.
“The cases we are seeing are just the tip of the iceberg,” Albert Ko told the Associated Press. Ko is a professor of public health and epidemiology at Yale University. “The window has probably closed for us to quickly stop the outbreaks in Europe and the U.S., but it’s not too late to stop monkeypox from causing huge damage to poorer countries without the resources to handle it.”
There are two types of monkeypox circulating in humans. One is more serious, and has a 10 percent fatality rate — currently, it has only been detected in Africa. The version that seems to be driving the worldwide outbreak is a milder strain that is rarely fatal. Both versions cause a fever and a rash that can be painful. Monkeypox viruses can be transmitted through close contact with an infected person, or with infected bodily fluids, though scientists are still working to figure out what’s driving this wave of cases. The vast majority of cases in the current outbreak have occurred in men, and particularly in men who have s.e.x with men, the WHO says.
It notes that there has also been an uptick in cases in parts of Africa, where monkeypox patients include more women and children.
The WHO’s declaration could theoretically help countries bolster their public health response. It came with recommendations for how different countries should respond to the virus, whether they’ve detected cases already or not. Unlike COVID-19, monkeypox is a known quantity. There are tests and vaccines for this virus, and while there aren’t specialized treatments, some antivirals may work on the disease.
Source: theverge
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