Monkey Pox No Longer a Global Emergency: WHO
The World Health Organization said Thursday that the global outbreak of mpox, which initially baffled experts when the smallpox-related disease spread to more than 100 countries last year, is no longer an international emergency, after a dramatic drop in cases in recent months.
Last July, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus declared mpox, also known as monkeypox, to be an “extraordinary” situation that qualified as a global crisis. In doing so, he overruled WHO’s expert committee, which didn’t recommend the emergency designation.
He said at a media briefing on Thursday that his expert committee had concluded that the recent dramatic decline in cases, with about 90% fewer cases in the last three months, was no longer an acute concern, reports AP.
The announcement Thursday comes after WHO downgraded COVID-19 last week, when it said the worst part of the pandemic was over and that the coronavirus should be managed like other respiratory diseases.
