(WXYZ) — The monkeypox outbreak has been declared a public health emergency of international concern by the World Health Organization.
There are more than 16,000 cases reported in 74 countries. Nearly 3,000 of them are in the U.S.
A public health emergency of international concern is the World Health Organization’s highest level of alert. It means the organization sees the monkeypox outbreak as an extraordinary event. But this does not mean that the disease is extremely transmissible or deadly.
What this global emergency status indicates to countries is that we all need to take the current outbreak seriously, and that a coordinated international response is needed. The public health emergency represents an international agreement with the purpose of preventing or responding to public health risks that have a real potential to spread worldwide.
So, this declaration could lead to countries sharing vaccines and treatments and investing resources and funding to help prevent the virus from spreading further.
Also, we’re seeing some genetic mutations in this virus. A coordinated global response could help scientists understand these changes, which could help get the outbreak under control.
Now that it’s a global health emergency, some are wondering if we should expect cases to spread beyond those highest at risk. And this is a concern.
Right now, monkeypox cases have been concentrated mostly within gay and bisexual communities. Outside of Africa, where monkeypox has been a concern for years, 99% of the cases are in men. And of those, 98% involved men who have sexual activity with other men.
However, it’s not uncommon for a virus to start in one particular group and then spread through the general population. Just recently, two children in the U.S. were diagnosed with monkeypox.
One is an infant and the other is a toddler. Both are doing well and being treated with antiviral medication. The two cases are unrelated and the children were likely infected through household transmission, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
So, in my opinion, the World Health Organization did the right thing by declaring a global emergency. The outbreak can be stopped with the right strategies, and we really need a global response. Countries should work together because if we don’t contain the outbreak globally, then the risk to the world will always be there.
