AA/Istanbul
The head of the World Health Organization, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said on Saturday that the epidemic outbreak of monkeypox which currently affects more than 70 countries, is an “exceptional” situation which requires the declaration of a “health emergency”. public of international concern”.
Dr Tedros has decided to trigger the highest level of alert from the UN health agency, in the absence of consensus among experts at the end of the meeting of the Emergency Committee, held on Thursday, reports the American agency Associated Press (AP).
“We are in the presence of an epidemic which has spread rapidly throughout the world, by new modes of transmission, of which we do not know much, and which meets the criteria of the International Health Regulations”, explained the chief. WHO in a press release from the UN agency.
Once declared, the “public health emergency of international concern” would accelerate research on the use of vaccines, therapies and other tools against this infectious disease, indicates the same source.
“Today there are more than 16,000 reported cases in 75 countries and territories, and five deaths,” said Dr Tedros.
For his part, Dr Michael Ryan, head of emergency operations at the WHO, stressed in a statement to the press: “The Director-General of WHO has taken this decision to encourage the international community to take very careful serious about the current outbreak of monkeypox”.
Symptoms of the disease appear in various forms: fever, swollen lymph nodes, muscle aches, fatigue, chills and a rash, similar to that of chickenpox, on the hands and face.
Monkeypox was first discovered in 1958, in a group of macaques (monkeys) that were studied in a laboratory for research purposes, hence its name.
*Translated from Arabic by Majdi Ismail
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