WHO declares monkeypox a global emergency

Editor's Note

On July 23, the World Health Organization (WHO) director-general declared monkeypox a public health emergency of international concern following the agency’s emergency committee inability to reach a consensus, Becker’s Hospital Review July 25 reports. After the no conclusion was drawn in the most recent meeting, WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus declared a global emergency and designated the outbreak as a “moderate” global risk.

"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," Dr Tedros stated in a news release. "For all of these reasons, I have decided that the global monkeypox outbreak represents a public health emergency of international concern."

The committee met for the first time in June to determine whether the outbreak constituted a global emergency but ruled it as a global crisis. At the time, international cases were just over 3,000. Since then, there are more than 16,000 cases across 75 countries. In the US, nearly 3,000 cases are confirmed as of July 22, two of which are children.

Ashish Jha, MD, the White House’s COVID-19 response coordinator, said the Department of Health and Human Services is considering declaring it a public health emergency. The agency has already distributed more than 300,000 doses throughout the US, as of July 22, and plans to release hundreds of thousands more in the coming weeks.