Europe 1 with AFP
modified to
5:04 p.m., July 23, 2022
The World Health Organization issued its highest level of alert for monkeypox on Saturday. To date, the risk is particularly high in Europe.
The World Health Organization issued its highest level of alert on Saturday to try to contain the outbreak of monkeypox, which has affected nearly 17,000 people in 74 countries, announced its director general. “I have decided to declare a Public Health Emergency of International Concern,” said Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus during a press briefing, specifying that the risk in the world was relatively moderate apart from Europe where it is high.
Dr Tedros explained that the expert committee had failed to reach consensus, remaining divided on the need to trigger the highest level of alert. In the end, it is up to the general manager to decide. “It’s a call to action, but it’s not the first,” said Mike Ryan, the WHO’s emergency manager, who said he hoped it would lead to collective action against disease.
An increase in the number of cases
Since early May, when it was detected outside African countries where it is endemic, the disease has struck more than 16,836 people in 74 countries, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) dashboard. as of July 22. Monkeypox is not a sexually transmitted disease but, outside endemic areas, it affects men who have sex with men with rare exceptions.
If the health authorities have reported a drop in the rate of contagion, the number of cases is increasing rapidly. First detected in humans in 1970, monkeypox is less dangerous and contagious than its cousin human smallpox, eradicated in 1980.