Monkeypox: Declared as a global threat, here’s all you need to know

Monkeypox was classified as a “Public Health Emergency of International Concern” by the World Health Organization on Saturday. In January 2020, the same declaration was used for Covid-19.  Except for Europe, where it is deemed to be high, the danger level is moderate in all other parts of the world.

More than 16,000 cases of monkeypox have been documented in 75 different nations. Three cases of the viral infection have been documented in India, and the Union Health Ministry has published recommendations for its surveillance. Earlier this week, the ministry gave port authorities orders to strictly screen all foreign visitors and work with organisations like immigration departments at international ports and airports to speed up the health screening procedures in addition to ensuring connections with hospitals designated for that purpose.

WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, in a press conference Saturday, said: “WHO’s assessment is that the risk of monkeypox is moderate globally and in all regions, except in the European region where we assess the risk as high. There is also a clear risk of further international spread, although the risk of interference with international traffic remains low for the moment. So in short, 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.”

Monkeypox: A global pandemic declared by WHO

The Emergency Committee under International Health Regulations, which met Thursday to review the new numbers, did not, however, reach a consensus on announcing a public health emergency.

Yet, WHO made the declaration based on cases being reported from several countries, the meeting of the three criteria for such a declaration (a situation that is serious, sudden, unusual, or unexpected; carries public health implication beyond the border of affected state; and may require immediate international action), and the risk to human health, international spread, and the potential for interference with international traffic.

Monkeypox is a viral infection that is mainly transmitted from animals to humans, previously with limited transmission among humans as the smallpox vaccine used for the eradication of the disease also protected against monkeypox. The first human case was reported in 1970 in Democratic Republic of the Congo and subsequently became endemic to several West and Central African countries.

Stay away and follow safety measures

Monkeypox spreads from person to person through close contact with someone who has a monkeypox rash, but now scientists are also looking at whether the disease is sexually transmitted with cases being diagnosed among men who have sex with men.

The most common symptoms of monkeypox include fever, headache, muscle aches, back pain, low energy, and swollen lymph nodes, along with pox rashes that last for two to three weeks. It is a self-limiting disease, but can lead to death especially in children and those with weak immune systems. Complications of the infection include pneumonia, secondary skin infections, confusion, and eye problems.

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