This is a global call to action against monkeypox. The director of the World Health Organization (WHO), Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus – known as “Doctor Tedros” – decided on Saturday July 23 to declare a public health emergency of international concern (USPPI) against monkeypox . This is the highest level of alert for the WHO, which has only used it for the seventh time.
Meeting for the first time on June 23, the experts of the emergency committee had decided that the epidemic did not deserve the status of USPPI. During this second meeting, the sixteen experts gathered on Thursday under the leadership of Doctor Jean-Marie Okwo-Bele, former director of vaccination at the WHO, failed to reach a consensus, nine being against USPPI and six for.
rapid spread
It was finally Doctor Tedros who decided to sound the alarm, especially because the virus has spread rapidly to many countries that had never known it before, that many unknowns persist in the scientific field. and that there is a risk to human health and possible interference with international travel. The director of the WHO nevertheless specified that the risk in the world was relatively moderate, except in Europe, where it is high.
Although monkey pox has been considered endemic in about ten African countries since the 1970s, it had never been the subject of international attention, apart from a few cases imported following trips to Africa. The situation changed after the reporting in early May of three cases in the UK which were not linked to recent travel outside the country.
Since then, cases have multiplied: more than 15,000 in 74 countries confirmed since the beginning of the year, according to WHO data. While most of the current cases concern men who have sex with men (MSM), women can also be affected by the disease, the mode of transmission of the virus being mainly by close contact. Five people have died from the disease in Nigeria and the Democratic Republic of Congo, but no deaths have been reported outside Africa since the start of the epidemic in May.
According to Dr Tedros, the fact that this outbreak is concentrated among MSM, and particularly those with multiple partners, “ means it can be stopped with the right strategies in the right group”. It is therefore essential that all countries work closely with this community to provide assistance and information. “These measures must protect the health, human rights and dignity of the affected community”he added, hammering: “Stigma and discrimination can be as dangerous as any virus. »
You have 56.94% of this article left to read. The following is for subscribers only.