Since early May 2022, there has been an increase in the number of monkeypox infections outside of the West and Central African nations where the disease has long been endemic. On Thursday, specialists in monkeypox debated whether the World Health Organization (WHO) should declare the epidemic a global health emergency. A report from The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention states the situation is getting worse and the disease is spreading fast, at the moment the number of countries infected is 71 with a total of approximately 15,400 people infected
Saturday, July 2022 WHO declared the monkeypox outbreak a public health emergency. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus claimed that despite the committee’s inability to agree, he made his conclusion after taking into account the five criteria for determining whether an outbreak qualifies as a public health emergency worldwide importance. This is an outbreak that can be stopped with the right strategies in the right groups.
Men who have intercourse with other men and have several sexual partners are disproportionately affected by the monkeypox pandemic. WHO is closely collaborating with civil society and the LGBTQ community, to fight the stigma around the virus and disseminate knowledge to keep people safe also, WHO is working hard to get more vaccines. By now a total of 191,000 doses have been delivered to the city health department, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services hopes to have a total of 7 million doses by next year.
High fever, enlarged lymph nodes, and a rash that resembles chicken pox are all typical early signs of monkeypox. However, the researchers noted that many individuals with this outbreak did not exhibit the clinical symptoms that are typically characterized. Among the cases reported at least 81% presented with a generalized body rash, 50% came with fever, and 41% presented with a genital rash.
Contact with bodily fluids, open sores, or objects contaminated with the virus, such as contaminated bedding and clothing, can result in the spread of the monkeypox virus. Additionally, in an environment where people are close to one another, it can be transferred by respiratory droplets.
Globally, there are more than 16,000 cases, and 2,891 cases have been confirmed in the United States. Since 2009, there have been six PHEIC notifications, with Covid-19 being the most recent in 2020. However, the WHO’s headquarters are still frustrated by the slow global reaction to the alert.
