WHO declares monkeypox a public health emergency
The World Health Organization (WHO) on Saturday declared monkeypox as a public health emergency in more than 70 countries. WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that so far more than 16,000 cases of monkeypox have been reported. It is spreading both at the global and regional level. However, he also said that more risk assessments have been done in European regions. After the virus was confined to the African continent for decades, since May it has started spreading in countries where it was not known.
The WHO chief said that there is a risk of international spread, but the risk of traffic interference is currently low. He said that its transmission is happening through new methods, about which we have very little information. Keeping this in mind, the organization has decided to declare monkeypox as a public health emergency.
Preparations for use of smallpox vaccine against monkeypox
The European Medicines Agency (EMMA) said on Friday that the smallpox vaccine made by the Bavarian Nordic should also be authorized for use against monkeypox, as an outbreak of the rare disease is making people sick across the continent. The European Union’s drug regulator said its recommendation is based on animal studies that suggest the vaccine protects non-human ‘primates’ from monkeypox.
