For only the 7th time ever the WHO has declared a ‘Public Health Emergency of International Concern’ over Monkeypox
Over the weekend, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared that the monkeypox outbreak spreading globally is a ‘public health emergency of international concern’ (PHEIC). Researchers hope that the declaration —
the agency’s highest alarm — might serve as a wake-up call for countries as they struggle to contain the spread of the virus that causes monkeypox.
Since the first cases were detected outside Africa in May, more than 16,500 people have been confirmed infected in nearly 80 countries that don’t typically see cases. Monkeypox has been circulating in parts of Africa for decades.
Researchers have been warning that the window of opportunity for containing the global monkeypox outbreak is rapidly closing. The virus is already established in an animal reservoir in some parts of Africa, making its eradication a difficult task. One fear is that the virus could spread from humans to animals elsewhere in the world, establishing further reservoirs from which humans could be infected repeatedly.
Even as cases are soaring in Germany, Spain and the United States, some think that containment is still possible, however. The PHEIC signals loudly to public-health officials that the time to act is now, says Caitlin Rivers, an epidemiologist at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland. “We can’t accept this as an endemic virus,” she says.
Countries should work to increase the number of people tested, boost contact-tracing efforts and isolate people as early as possible after symptoms are detected, Rivers adds.
The PHEIC sends a clear message to countries that their participation in the global response — which might include sharing vaccines and treatments — is necessary for containment. The WHO issued guidelines for countries when announcing the alarm, offering recommendations on testing, public-health measures and messaging, travel advisories, infection prevention and control, and global coordination.
While wealthy countries use vaccines for monkeypox, Titanji warns that the ongoing outbreaks in Africa, where there have been more than 70 suspected deaths from the virus this year, “cannot be relegated to a footnote”. (So far, no deaths have occurred in people infected outside Africa.) She hopes that the WHO will promote equity in the global monkeypox response by helping to scale-up surveillance and testing for the virus in Africa, and by allocating money for research and vaccines there. “We got into this problem by allowing monkeypox
to rage on for 50 years in Africa,” she says.
Those damn monkeys!!! 
