It's official: WHO declares Monkeypox a global "public health emergency"

The multi-country outbreak of monkeypox now officially constitutes a “Public Health Emergency of International Concern,” according to the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Director-General.

In WHO’s second meeting regarding monkeypox, while committee members didn’t reach a consensus on whether or not monkeypox fit the criteria, Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus went ahead anyway and made the announcement.

🚨 BREAKING:
“For all of these reasons, I have decided that the global #monkeypox outbreak represents a public health emergency of international concern.”-@DrTedros pic.twitter.com/qvmYX1ZBAL

— World Health Organization (WHO) (@WHO) July 23, 2022

In a statement, the Director-General said that the outbreak has been growing. “There are now more than 16,000 reported cases from 75 countries and territories, and five deaths,” he said.

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“WHO’s assessment is that the risk of monkeypox is moderate globally and in all regions, except in the European region where we assess the risk as high,”

“There is also a clear risk of further international spread, although the risk of interference with international traffic remains low for the moment.”

“So in short, we have an outbreak that has spread around the world rapidly, through new modes of transmission, about which we understand too little, and which meets the criteria in the International Health Regulations.”

“With the tools we have right now, we can stop transmission and bring this outbreak under control,” he said.

How to stop monkeypox in Canada

WHO recommends that countries like Canada “to implement a coordinated response to stop transmission and protect vulnerable groups”.

WHO’s recommendations encourage nations to:

• Engage and protect affected communities.
• Intensify surveillance and public health measures.
• Strengthen clinical management and infection prevention and control in hospitals and clinics.
• Accelerate research into the use of vaccines, therapeutics and other tools.

The Director-General said in a statement that it’s “essential” for countries “to design and deliver effective information and services, and to adopt measures that protect the health, human rights and dignity of affected communities,” in particular, men who have sex with men because “stigma and discrimination can be as dangerous as any virus.”

What is Canada doing about monkeypox?

While WHO doesn’t have any governing power in Canada, the organization has created a series of temporary public health recommendations for countries experiencing monkeypox outbreaks, including Canada.

In Canada, there are fewer than 700 cases of monkeypox nationwide as of July 22, 2022.

Public Health Agency of Canada

The Public Health Agency of Canada is monitoring the situation. They’ve also recently partnered with community-based organizations and provided them with funding.

Meanwhile, Canada’s National Microbiology Laboratory is performing diagnostic testing for the virus that causes monkeypox plus whole genome sequencing on Canadian samples of monkeypox.

“This sequencing will help our experts understand the chains of transmission occurring in Canada,” reads the Public Health Agency of Canada’s website.

“The laboratory is working in close collaboration with provincial and territorial public health laboratories to provide testing guidance and to increase testing capacity for monkeypox.”