The World Health Organization (WHO) today declared a global public health emergency for the second time in two years, after the outbreak of the monkeypox viral infection in the Democratic Republic of Congo, which spread to neighboring countries, Reuters reports.
Monkey pox is an infectious disease, it spreads through close contact, it is usually mild, and in rare cases it can be fatal. It causes flu-like symptoms and purulent lesions on the body.
Designating a disease outbreak as a "Public Health Emergency of International Concern," or PHEIC, is the WHO's highest level of alert, and it can accelerate research, funding, and international public health measures and cooperation to control the disease.
The epidemic in the Congo began with the spread of an endemic strain.
But the new variant appears to spread more easily through routine close contact, including sexual contact.
From Congo, it spread to neighboring countries, including Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda, prompting WHO action.
"It is clear that a coordinated international response is necessary to stop these epidemics and save lives," said WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Earlier this Sunday, Africa's top public health authority declared a state of monkeypox emergency on the continent after warning that the viral infection was spreading at an alarming rate.
More than 17.000 suspected monkeypox cases and 517 deaths have been reported on the African continent so far this year, a 160 percent increase over the same period last year, the African Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said.
A total of 13 countries have reported cases.
A different form of the virus spread around the world in 2022, mostly through sexual contact between men who have sex with men, according to Reuters.
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