Monkey pox: WHO thinks of an “international public health emergency”

Less than a week after calling the states at control the outbreakWorld Health Organization director general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on Tuesday condemned the extension of the epidemic unusual and pertinent.

The situation requires a coordinated responsehe said at a press conference, announcing the emergency committee’s June 23 meetingWHO.

Since the beginning of May, more than 1,600 confirmed cases have been reported in 39 countries, including 32 where the disease is not endemic – and where no deaths have yet been recorded.

Commonly circulating in Central and West Africa, the virus is now present in Europe, Australia, the Middle East, North America and South America.

Rely on the help of international experts more understandable monkeypox, theWHO think about it too change the name of the virussaid Dr. Tedros, I promise announcements soon at this point.

However, the priority remains help countries contain transmission and stop the epidemic through proven as surveillance, contact tracing and isolation of infected patientshe recalled.

L ‘WHO has also slowed growing enthusiasm for smallpox vaccines, as the European Commission on Tuesday announced a contract with Danish laboratory Bavarian Nordic for the supply of more than 100,000 doses.

The European Medicines Agency (EMA) indicated that at the beginning of June it was in contact as a precaution to this manufacturer, while hoping that it will deposit soon an application for authorization of its product against monkeypox.

The United States, which estimates vaccination of contact cases, has also purchased more than 300,000 doses of this serum, to supplement its stock of 100 million units of another vaccine from French Sanofi.

But a vaccination large and heavy is not recommended at this stage, the feltWHO in the interim guidelines released Tuesday, which emphasized that any decision whether to use vaccines or not must be made […] based on risk-benefit assessment, on a case-by-case basis.

However, Dr. felt. Tedros it is important that vaccines are equally available where they are needed and clarified that his organization is working with Member States and its partners to develop a mechanism for equal access to vaccines and treatments.

An anti-smallpox drug, tecovirimat, has already been approved byEMA for monkeypox earlier this year, but it is not yet widely available.

The disease usually heals spontaneously, after two to three weeks of flu -like symptoms followed by hives. But these clinical signs may be light and hard to identify, though misdiagnosedwarned the American authorities.