With more than 16,000 cases of monkeypox reported in 75 countries around the world since the beginning of May 2022, the Director General of the World Health Organization (WHO), Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, declared today that the outbreak of the disease constitutes a public health emergency of international importance.
“The WHO assessment is that the risk of monkeypox is moderate globally and in all regions except the European region, where we assess the risk as high,” said Dr Tedros, adding that “there is also a clear risk of further international spread, although the risk of interference with international traffic remains low for the time being.”
The announcement was made during a virtual press conference on the report of the second meeting of the International Health Regulations (IHR) Emergency Committee on the monkeypox outbreak in several countries.
To read the full statement and recommendations, go to here.