WHO: Consider Convening an Emergency Committee to Assess Outbreaks of Mpox
Dr Tedros director of the World Health Organization, July 2024 Photo: @EpochTimes
August 6, 2024 Hour: 6:07 pm
“We are seeing an expansion of the outbreak on the continent, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, but also in certain countries surrounding the region,”
The Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, is considering convening a meeting of the Emergency Committee in connection with the recent outbreaks of mpox (formerly known as monkey smallpox).
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This body is composed of independent experts from around the world and is responsible for advising the head of WHO on whether an infectious outbreak should be declared an international emergency.
This is in view of the considerable increase in cases of mpox in Africa in recent months, a dynamic that the Committee would examine to determine its seriousness and potential impact on other countries on the continent and the rest of the world.
“We are seeing an expansion of the outbreak on the continent, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, but also in certain countries surrounding the region,” said WHO Director of Prevention and Preparedness for Epidemics and Pandemics, Maria Van Kerkhove, in Geneva.
However, it was recognized that it has not yet been possible to determine whether the increase in reported cases corresponds to a real situation or to the fact that countries in the region are sensitized to this disease, have improved their health surveillance and are reporting cases more rigorously.
Among the elements of greatest concern to WHO are the different modes of transmission being observed, from transmission through infected animals, sexually, but also in families where children are most affected, with high mortality.
Generally, the mpox virus is transmitted mainly by direct or indirect contact with blood, body fluids, skin lesions or mucous membranes of infected animals.
Autor: OSG
Fuente: EFE
