On Friday, the World Health Organization (WHO) called on Europe for taking urgent action against the emergence of Monkeypox after the number of infections tripled in a couple of weeks.
WHO Regional Director for Europe Hans Kluge said: "Today, I am intensifying my call for governments and civil society to scale up efforts in the coming weeks and months to prevent monkeypox from establishing itself across a growing geographical area."
Kluge continued: "Urgent and coordinated action is imperative if we are to turn a corner in the race to reverse the ongoing spread of this disease," he added.
However, WHO said last week that the emergence of the Monkeypox globally is still not an emergency yet.
Ghebreyesus urged health officials around the world to follow protective procedures to restrict the disease, alongside continuing testing, and providing vaccines.
He explained: “Overall, in the report, they (the emergency committee) advised me that at this moment the event does not constitute a Public Health Emergency of International Concern, which is the highest level of alert WHO can issue but recognized that the convening of the committee itself reflects the increasing concern about the international spread of monkeypox.”
The organization previously highlighted monkeypox had been spreading and killing many people in Africa for decades.
“Just over 6 weeks ago, the WHO was notified of a family of 3 Monkeypox cases without any recent travel outside the UK, and since then, more than 3,200 confirmed cases of monkeypox and 1 death from 48 countries have been reported”, WHO Director-General added.
“Monkeypox disease is usually self-limited, meaning it typically resolves itself without treatment,” the WHO said, warning that severe cases may occur and that the fatality ratio due to the disease has been around three to six percent.
Symptoms of the disease, which usually last from two to four weeks, include fever, rash and swollen lymph nodes. The disease can be transmitted to people from other infected persons or animals.
Monkeypox is less contagious than notorious smallpox, which was declared eradicated worldwide in 1980, and causes less severe illness.
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