The World Health Organisation (WHO) has cautioned countries across the globe to be on a high alert to prevent the entry and eventual spread of the monkeypox virus.
Following the rising number of cases since its resurgence in May 2022, the count of the affected now stands at 16,000 and is reported from 75 countries. This was captured by the Director General of WHO, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. He added that 5 death cases have so far been recorded.
He revealed this at the second meeting of WHO’s emergency committee on the virus where consensus was to be reached as to whether to declare it a global health emergency. Even though a consensus is yet to be reached, it was generally agreed that it is a matter of grave international concern considering the number of countries involved and the rate at which it is spreading.
Dr. Tedross was particularly concerned about the fact that they were not particularly certain about the new modes of transmission and the fact that presently, there are no vaccines available to combat and contain its spread.
Regardless of the absence of vaccines and clear knowledge of the modus operandi of the current one, Dr. Tedros has assured the world that the virus can be contained with the right strategies. “This is an outbreak that can be stopped with the right strategies in the right groups,” Dr. Tedros indicated.
Monkeypox was first discovered in central Africa in the 1950s. In May 2022, it resurfaced strongly with a pocket of cases in the United Kingdom. The spread has been steady and rapid ever since.
