WHO to hold emergency meeting over monkeypox

[tintuc]The World Health Organization (WHO) decided to convene an emergency meeting to discuss the highly spreading monkeypox epidemic, but has not yet set a date.

The announcement was made by WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on August 7, amid an outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The country has recorded 27,000 cases and 1,100 deaths since the beginning of the year, including many children. The number of cases has skyrocketed since September last year, determined by a new strain of monkeypox, which has a higher rate of spread and mortality than the old strain.

"In the face of the situation of monkeypox spreading outside Congo, there is a risk of transmission in the world, I decided to convene the Emergency Committee to discuss whether this outbreak is a global public health emergency," Tedros said.

This is the highest alert issued by the WHO. The meeting will take place "as soon as possible", but no specific date has yet been set.

Last week, the African Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said 10 countries on the continent had recorded monkeypox cases. In which, the Democratic Republic of the Congo accounts for more than 96% of all cases. The number of cases increased by 160% this year, the number of deaths increased by 19%. The disease is especially common in young people.

WHO has stated Monkeypox is a global health emergency in 2022, after the disease spread to more than 70 countries. Developed countries have vaccines that are effective in preventing the disease, but low-income countries cannot access adequate supplies, making it difficult to completely eradicate the disease.

In the three years 2021-2023, the world recorded 92,000 infections and 167 deaths from the disease, mainly involving men who have sex with men and people who have multiple sexual partners. The initial cases were concentrated in the United States and some European countries, prompting the United Nations health agency to declare a public health emergency. The state of emergency was lifted in May 2022.

Vietnam discovered The first case of monkeypox in October 2022. By the beginning of this year, the Ministry of Health recorded more than 68 cases of monkeypox, 6 deaths, most of whom had a history of HIV infection. Since then, localities have still scattered records of people with monkeypox.

Monkeypox is a viral disease, spread through close contact, with flu-like symptoms and pus-filled pimples. Most patients have mild symptoms, but they can progress severely, leading to death.[/tintuc]