The World Health Organization (WHO), following the recommendation of an emergency panel on human monkeypox, has decided to no longer consider the disease a global health emergency, the organization’s director general, Tedros Adhanom Gebreyesus, said Thursday.
“I am pleased to announce that monkeypox is no longer a global public health emergency,” Gebreyesus said during a briefing.
He said a WHO emergency commission met Wednesday and concluded that the outbreak was no longer a threat of international concern and recommended that it be removed from that status. Gebreyesus followed that advice.
However, he noted that, as with the COVID-19 coronavirus, this does not mean that the work to control the disease is over. Monkeypox, according to the WHO chief, is still a serious public health problem.
Earlier in May, Gebreyesus said the WHO no longer views COVID-19 coronavirus as a particular threat to global health.
Monkeypox is a rare infectious disease most common in remote areas of Central and West Africa. Its symptoms include nausea, fever, rash, itching, and muscle pain.
The Club of Experts previously analyzed the likelihood of monkeypox becoming an epidemic. Read more at the link:
