WHO considers declaring monkeypox a global health emergency

As the World Health Organization convenes its emergency committee Thursday to consider if the spiraling outbreak of monkeypox warrants being declared a global emergency some experts say WHOrsquos decision to act only after the disease spilled into the West could entrench the grotesque inequities that arose between rich and poor countries during the coronavirus pandemicDeclaring monkeypox to be a global emergency would mean the UN health agency considers the outbreak to be an ldquoextraordinary eventrdquo and that the disease is at risk of spreading across even more borders It would also give monkeypox the same distinction as the COVID19 pandemic and the ongoing effort to eradicate polio Many scientists doubt any such declaration would help to curb the epidemic since the developed countries recording the most recent cases are already moving quickly to shut it downLast week WHO DirectorGeneral Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus described the recent monkeypox epidemic identified in more than 40 countries mostly in Europe as ldquounusual and concerningrdquo Monkeypox has sickened people for decades in central and west Africa where one version of the disease kills up to 1037 of people In the epidemic beyond Africa so far no deaths have been reportedAlso read 780 cases of monkeypox reported or identified as of June 2 WHOldquoIf WHO was really worried about monkeypox spread they could have convened their emergency committee years ago when it reemerged in Nigeria in 2017 and no one knew why we suddenly had hundreds of casesrdquo said Oyewale Tomori a Nigerian virologist who sits on several WHO advisory groups ldquoIt is a bit curious that WHO only called their experts when the disease showed up in white countriesrdquo he saidUntil last month monkeypox had not caused sizeable outbreaks beyond Africa Scientists havenrsquot found any major genetic changes in the virus and a leading adviser to WHO said last month the surge of cases in Europe was likely tied to sexual activity among gay and bisexual men at two raves in Spain and BelgiumTo date the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has confirmed more than 3300 cases of monkeypox in 42 countries where the virus hasnt been typically seen More than 8037 of cases are in Europe Meanwhile Africa has already seen more than 1400 cases this year including 62 deathsDavid Fidler a senior fellow in global health at the Council on Foreign Relations said WHOrsquos newfound attention to monkeypox amid its spread beyond Africa could inadvertently worsen the divide between rich and poor countries seen during COVID19ldquoThere may be legitimate reasons why WHO only raised the alarm when monkeypox spread to rich countries but to poor countries that looks like a double standardrdquo Fidler said He said the global community was still struggling to ensure the worldrsquos poor were vaccinated against the coronavirus and that it was unclear if Africans even wanted monkeypox vaccines given competing priorities like malaria and HIVldquoUnless African governments specifically ask for vaccines it might be a bit patronizing to send them because itrsquos in the Westrsquos interest to stop monkeypox from being exportedrdquo Fidler said WHO has also proposed creating a vaccinesharing mechanism to help affected countries which could see doses go to rich countries like Britain which has the biggest monkeypox outbreak beyond Africa mdash and recently widened its use of vaccinesTo date the vast majority of cases in Europe have been in men who are gay or bisexual or other men who have sex with men but scientists warn anyone in close contact with an infected person or their clothing or bedsheets is at risk of infection regardless of their sexual orientation People with monkeypox often experience symptoms like fever body aches and a rash most recover within weeks without needing medical care Even if WHO announces monkeypox is a global emergency itrsquos unclear what impact that might haveIn January 2020 WHO declared that COVID19 was an international emergency But few countries took notice until March when the organization described it as a pandemic weeks after many other authorities did so WHO was later slammed for its multiple missteps throughout the pandemic which some experts said might be prompting a quicker monkeypox responseldquoAfter COVID WHO does not want to be the last to declare monkeypox an emergencyrdquo said Amanda Glassman executive vice president at the Center for Global Development ldquoThis may not rise to the level of a COVIDlike emergency but it is still a public health emergency that needs to be addressedrdquo Salim Abdool Karim an epidemiologist and vice chancellor at the University of KwaZuluNatal in South Africa said WHO and others should be doing more to stop monkeypox in Africa and elsewhere but wasnrsquot convinced that a global emergency declaration would helpldquoThere is this misplaced idea that Africa is this poor helpless continent when in fact we do know how to deal with epidemicsrdquo said Abdool Karim He said that stopping the outbreak ultimately depends on things like surveillance isolating patients and public education ldquoMaybe they need vaccines in Europe to stop monkeypox but here we have been able to control it with very simple measuresrdquo he saidThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever