WHO declares spread of monkeypox a global health emergency

More than 16,000 cases of monkeypox have been reported across 75 countries so far in 2022. File Picture: PA

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has declared the spread of monkeypox a global health emergency - its highest alert level.

The UN health agency’s declaration could spur further investment in treating the once-rare disease – and also worsen the scramble for scarce vaccines.

Although monkeypox has been established in parts of central and west Africa for decades - it was first discovered in 1958 - it was not known to spark large outbreaks beyond the continent or to spread widely among people until May, when authorities detected dozens of epidemics in Europe, North America and elsewhere.

More than 16,000 cases of monkeypox have been reported across 75 countries so far in 2022.

In Ireland, 69 cases of the infection have been confirmed, according to the latest data from the Health Protection Surveillance Centre (HPSC). 

Five deaths from the virus have been reported in Africa this year. No deaths have been reported outside Africa so far.

Symptoms and spread

According to health authorities, there are two types of monkeypox: West African monkeypox and Congo Basin monkeypox. 

It is the milder, West African variety that causing the current outbreak.

Symptoms of monkeypox include fever, headache, muscle aches, backache, swollen lymph nodes, chills and exhaustion.

Often, a rash can develop, usually beginning on the face, It will then spread to other parts of the body including the genitals.

The rash can look like chickenpox or syphilis, and scabs can form which then fall off.

WHO Director-General @DrTedros' full statement on the press conference following the International Health Regulations Emergency Committee regarding the multi-country outbreak of #monkeypox https://t.co/HD2jbyOVXE pic.twitter.com/19uLxNy5rC

— World Health Organization (WHO) (@WHO) July 23, 2022

The viral infection spreads through close contact, including contact with the skin rash of someone with monkeypox. 

Individuals who closely interact with someone who is infectious are at greater risk contracting the infection. 

WHO’s top monkeypox expert, Dr Rosamund Lewis, said this week that 99% of all the monkeypox cases beyond Africa were in men and that of those, 98% involved men who have sex with men.

The HPSC says and that a multidisciplinary Incident Management Team, established by the HSE when the international alert was first raised earlier this year, has commenced activities to prepare for further cases in Ireland.

However, it says risk of spread within the community is generally "very low".

Last month, the WHO’s expert committee said the worldwide monkeypox outbreak did not amount to an international emergency, but it now appears to have re-evaluated the situation.

This is the 7th time the WHO has made such a declaration since 2009. The most recent declaration was made in relation to Covid-19 in March 2020.

Declaring a global emergency means the monkeypox outbreak is an “extraordinary event” that could spill over into more countries and requires a coordinated global response.

The emergency declaration mostly serves as a plea to draw more global resources and attention to an outbreak.

The WHO can only issue guidance and recommendations to  member states, not official mandates. Member states are required to report events that pose a threat to global health.