Geneva: The World Health Organization will convene an expert committee of experts to determine whether the spread of the smallpox outbreak that has mysteriously spread outside Africa should be considered a global health emergency.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in Geneva on Tuesday that he had decided to convene an emergency committee on June 23 because the virus had shown recent “unusual” behavior as it spread to countries. far beyond parts of Africa where it is endemic.
“We believe it also needs a coordinated response due to geographical spread,” he told reporters.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. Credit: AP
Declaring smallpox smallpox an international health emergency would give it the same designation as the COVID-19 pandemic and would mean that the WHO considers the normally rare disease to be a continuing threat to countries around the world.
The UK said on Monday it had 470 cases of monkeypox nationwide, with the vast majority in gay or bisexual men. British scientists said last week that they could not know if the spread of the disease in the UK had reached its maximum.
The meeting of external experts could also help improve understanding and knowledge about the virus, Tedros said, as the WHO released new guidelines on vaccination against monkeypox.
A bucket with suspected smallpox samples is placed in a refrigerator before being tested in the microbiology laboratory of La Paz Hospital in Madrid, Spain. Credit: Getty
Dr Ibrahima Soce Fall, WHO’s director of emergencies for Africa, said the number of cases was rising every day and that health officials were facing “many gaps in terms of knowledge of the dynamics of transmission”. “, both in Africa and beyond.
“With the advice of the emergency committee, we can be in a better position to control the situation. But that doesn’t mean we’re going directly to a public health emergency of international interest, “he said, referring to the WHO’s highest alert level for viral outbreaks.