The Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO) has announced that he will convene an Emergency Committee to advise on whether the new outbreak of monkeypox (Mpox) constitutes a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC).

Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus speaks at the WHO's regular monthly meeting Press Conference The World Health Organization, which is responsible for global health issues, announced (August 7) ​​that it will convene a meeting of the International Health Regulations Emergency Committee to advise on whether the outbreak of a new and potentially more virulent strain of smallpox should be declared a public health emergency of international concern.

“Since the beginning of the year, more than 14,000 cases and 511 deaths have been reported, more than in the whole of last year,” Tedros said.

“In the past month, more than 50 confirmed or suspected cases have been reported in four countries neighbouring the DRC that are not affected: Burundi, Rwanda, Kenya and Uganda,” he added.

Asked how the situation would affect Europe in July, WHO Health Emergencies Programme Executive Director Dr Michael Ryan said: “This should be a relatively minor disease that can be controlled with measures and interventions, especially for those who have access to vaccines.”

While the situation is easier to handle in Europe, Ryan urged governments to invest now, before the disease spreads and becomes more expensive to control.

In response to the same question, Dr. Maria Van Kerkhove, director of pandemic preparedness and prevention at the World Health Organization, said: “If I am cynical, we can see what happened when we saw cases all over Europe, and only then did the world start paying the price.” Attention.

The disease has an estimated case fatality rate of 3.6% and poses a particular risk to people under 15 years of age, accounting for 88% of deaths. The World Health Organization has approved emergency use of the two vaccines and requested US$15 million to support the fight against the disease. So far, smallpox control recommendations do not include travel restrictions to affected countries.

What is PHEIC?

A public health emergency of international concern, as defined in the International Health Regulations (2005), needs to meet three main criteria. It must represent an exceptional development in terms of seriousness, speed or unusualness, it must have a real or potential international impact, and it must require an international response.

The Emergency Committee consists of experts who judge whether the development meets the PHEIC criteria and make recommendations on how to deal with the emergency. These recommendations automatically expire after three months, but the Committee may extend them if it deems it necessary.

2022 outbreak in europe

The World Health Organization declared the smallpox outbreak a public health emergency in July 2021. The virus was a variant derived from the type 2 virus. The current declaration concerns a new type of the former type 1 virus that has been circulating in the Democratic Republic of the Congo for many years.

The outbreak reached Europe in 2022 and was quickly brought under control through government action by engaging communities most at risk of transmission, particularly men who have sex with men. However, the virus can also be transmitted through close personal interactions. The PHEIC status was suspended on 10 May 2023.

(Edited by Rajnish Singh)