Monkeypox symptoms are shown on a patient’s hand on May 27, 2003.
Photo: Courtesy CDC/Getty Images
The World Health Network (WHN) statement calling the current monkeypox outbreak a pandemic comes as the World Health Organization (WHO) hosts a meeting to decide on its own designation of the monkeypox outbreak. contagious with cases increasing in countries where this disease is rare.
The WHN statement urges national and global health authorities to take immediate and effective action to prevent monkeypox from becoming a disaster.
The Global Health Network is a collaboration of science teams and citizens empowering action to promote health and prevent harm. It is independent of any political body or government, and is guided by compassion and scientific rigor.
Even with mortality rates much lower than those of smallpox, unless measures are taken to stop the spread of this viral disease, measures that can be put into practice quickly, millions of people may fall ill.
This comes as there are 3,417 confirmed cases of monkeypox in 58 countries and the outbreak is rapidly expanding across multiple continents.
Britain, where almost 800 cases of the virus were recorded last month, has the most reported infections outside of Africa.and case trends in that country are of concern to experts across Europe, because it has become the epicenter of the outbreak and they are weighing the best approach to treat the monkeypox outbreak, amid the coronavirus pandemic that is already lasts several years.
The essential purpose of declaring a pandemic is to achieve a concerted effort in multiple countries or around the world to prevent widespread harm, the WHN statement said.
“There is no justification for waiting for the monkeypox pandemic to continue to grow. The best time to act is now. By taking immediate action, we can control the outbreak with the least effort and prevent the consequences from worsening. The actions needed now only require clear public communication about symptoms, widely available testing, and contact tracing with very few quarantines. Any delay only makes the effort more difficult and the consequences more serious.” said Yaneer Bar-Yam, PhD, president of the New England Complex Systems Institute and co-founder of WHN.
Monkeypox is a virus with the potential to cause significant harm to people, including an acute painful illness that may require hospitalization and can lead to death, skin scarring, blindness, and other long-term disabilities.
Those most vulnerable to serious illness are children, pregnant people, and people who are immunocompromised.
It may interest you:
– Monkeypox increased to 156 cases in the US and California is the most affected state with 40 infections, according to the CDC
– WHO admits that monkeypox is a “real risk” for humanity and warned of the urgency of detecting cases
– The CDC publishes new guidance on monkeypox due to the increase in cases in the US.
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