GENEVA: A committee of experts from the World Health Organization will meet for the first time on Thursday to discuss the monkeypox outbreak and decide whether it is a global health emergency.
One day meeting being held privately 1000 . was about to start GMTWith a statement on the results likely to be released on Friday.
Since May an increase in monkeypox cases has been detected outside West and Central African countries, where the disease has long been endemic. Most new cases are in Western Europe,
WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has convened an emergency committee to assess whether the outbreak is a public health emergency of international concern.
a PHEIC is the highest alarm that can sound under WHO international health regulations A legally binding framework was agreed upon by 196 countries to deal with public health programs that cross borders.
In addition to providing a PHEIC assessment, members of the committee will advise WHO and its member states on how to better prevent the spread of the disease and manage their response.
“The Emergency Committee will provide a recommendation to the Director-General based on scientific principles and the risk to human health, the risk of international spread and the risk of interference with international traffic,” the WHO said.
Tedros then makes the final determination based on his advice as to whether a PHEIC should be declared.
There have been six PHEIC announcements since 2009, the last in 2020 for COVID-19 – although the sluggish global response to alarm bells is still at the WHO’s Geneva headquarters.
The emergency committee meetings on the new coronavirus outbreak were held on January 22 and 23, 2020, but the panel could not agree at the time that the PHEIC limit had been reached.
A PHEIC was declared after the third meeting on 30 January. But only after March 11, when Tedros described the rapidly deteriorating situation as a pandemic, did many countries wake up to the danger.
This year, as of 15 June, a probable case of monkeypox, including 2,103 laboratory-confirmed cases and one death, has been reported to the WHO from 42 countries.
But the Europe Office of the WHO and the Health Agency of the European Union ECDC said that Europe alone had recorded 2,746 cases as of Tuesday.
“The outbreak of monkeypox primarily affects men who have sex with men who have recently reported having sex with new or multiple partners,” the WHO said.
About 84 percent of cases have been found in Europe, with the largest number of cases being reported from Britain, Spain, Germany, Portugal, Canada and France.
The WHO says that undetected transmission may occur for some time before it appears unexpectedly in many countries.
The UN health agency currently considers the global risk level to be moderate, given the low mortality rate.
Tedros announced on June 14 that he would convene an emergency committee, describing the outbreak as “unusual and concerning”.
One day meeting being held privately 1000 . was about to start GMTWith a statement on the results likely to be released on Friday.
Since May an increase in monkeypox cases has been detected outside West and Central African countries, where the disease has long been endemic. Most new cases are in Western Europe,
WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has convened an emergency committee to assess whether the outbreak is a public health emergency of international concern.
a PHEIC is the highest alarm that can sound under WHO international health regulations A legally binding framework was agreed upon by 196 countries to deal with public health programs that cross borders.
In addition to providing a PHEIC assessment, members of the committee will advise WHO and its member states on how to better prevent the spread of the disease and manage their response.
“The Emergency Committee will provide a recommendation to the Director-General based on scientific principles and the risk to human health, the risk of international spread and the risk of interference with international traffic,” the WHO said.
Tedros then makes the final determination based on his advice as to whether a PHEIC should be declared.
There have been six PHEIC announcements since 2009, the last in 2020 for COVID-19 – although the sluggish global response to alarm bells is still at the WHO’s Geneva headquarters.
The emergency committee meetings on the new coronavirus outbreak were held on January 22 and 23, 2020, but the panel could not agree at the time that the PHEIC limit had been reached.
A PHEIC was declared after the third meeting on 30 January. But only after March 11, when Tedros described the rapidly deteriorating situation as a pandemic, did many countries wake up to the danger.
This year, as of 15 June, a probable case of monkeypox, including 2,103 laboratory-confirmed cases and one death, has been reported to the WHO from 42 countries.
But the Europe Office of the WHO and the Health Agency of the European Union ECDC said that Europe alone had recorded 2,746 cases as of Tuesday.
“The outbreak of monkeypox primarily affects men who have sex with men who have recently reported having sex with new or multiple partners,” the WHO said.
About 84 percent of cases have been found in Europe, with the largest number of cases being reported from Britain, Spain, Germany, Portugal, Canada and France.
The WHO says that undetected transmission may occur for some time before it appears unexpectedly in many countries.
The UN health agency currently considers the global risk level to be moderate, given the low mortality rate.
Tedros announced on June 14 that he would convene an emergency committee, describing the outbreak as “unusual and concerning”.