WHO Declares Monkeypox Public Health Emergency

GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – The World Health Organization has declared monkeypox a health emergency, with a “clear risk” of international spread.

WHO Director General Dr. Tedros Ghebreyesus making the declaration, Saturday, noting “we have an outbreak that has spread across the world rapidly, through new modes of transmission about which we understand too little.”

Dr. Ghebreyesus says the global monkeypox outbreak represents a public health emergency of international concern.

Monkeypox is considered “moderate” globally and in all regions, except Europe, where the risk as been assessed as high, according to WHO.

The WHO Secretariat is reporting, “The majority of reported cases of monkeypox currently are in males, and most of these cases occur among males who identified themselves as gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men (MSM), in urban areas, and are clustered in social and sexual networks. Early reports of children affected include a few with no known epidemiological link to other cases.”

Acting Chief Medical Officer Dr. Philip Swann says monkeypox can affect children, and anyone can catch it.

Monkeypox is transmitted from human-to-human by close contact with lesions, body fluids, respiratory droplets and contaminated materials such as bedding.

The WHO says the incubation period of monkeypox can range from 5-21 days, and symptoms generally last from 2-4 weeks.