The monkeypox outbreak has been declared a global health emergency by the World Health Organization (WHO).
Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the director general of WHO, declared the emergency today, adding that although the risk was 'moderate' across the globe it was 'high' in Europe. It follows a worldwide upsurge in cases.
Following WHO's emergency committee meeting on the virus, he announced more than 16,000 cases have now been reported from 75 countries, including five deaths.
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Dr Tedros reportedly said the emergency committee had been unable to reach agreement on whether the monkeypox outbreak should be classified as a global health emergency. However, he said the outbreak had spread around the world rapidly and he, with a casting vote, had decided that it was indeed of international concern.
"The WHO's assessment is that the risk of monkeypox is moderate globally and in all regions, except in the European region, where we assess the risk as high," he said, according to the BBC.
Although monkeypox has been established in parts of central and west Africa for decades, it was not known to spark large outbreaks beyond the continent or to spread widely among people until May, when authorities detected dozens of epidemics in Europe, North America and elsewhere.
Declaring a global emergency means the monkeypox outbreak is an “extraordinary event” that could spill over into more countries and requires a coordinated global response.
The WHO previously declared emergencies for public health crises such as the Covid-19 pandemic, the 2014 West African Ebola outbreak, the Zika virus in Latin America in 2016 and the ongoing effort to eradicate polio.
The emergency declaration mostly serves as a plea to draw more global resources and attention to an outbreak.
Last week the M.E.N. reported that a monkeypox vaccine programme is being rolled out in Manchester. The news came as the number of cases of the virus have topped 2,000 across the country.
As of 18 July 2022, the latest figures available, there were 2,137 confirmed cases in the UK, according to the UK Health Security Agency ( UKHSA ) - of these, 2,050 are in England. From May 6 to July 18, the number of laboratory confirmed monkeypox cases stood at 115 in the North West.
Following the figures, Manchester City Council has confirmed that the borough is rolling out the smallpox jab being used to protect against monkeypox. A smallpox vaccine is being offered to close contacts with higher risk exposure on a case by case basis, says the UKHSA.
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