“I have decided to declare a ‘public health emergency of international importance“. With these words the number one of the WHO Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus announced the breakthrough on the monkeypox after a period of hesitation.
In fact, in recent days the emergency committee of theOms met to examine the progress of the monkeypox epidemic, but was unable to reach a unanimous decision.
To break the delay was Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, who with a post on Twitter announced the decision taken by the WHO: for monkeypox the maximum alert leveldespite the conflicting opinions on this matter that emerged among experts during the recent meeting of the Emergency Committee for International Health Regulations.
While the Covid pandemic shows no signs of loosening its grip, even if the situation thanks to the spread of vaccines and Omicron variants is much better than in the past, here is Tedros’ twist on monkeypox with the WHO director general who spoke of “five elements in deciding whether an outbreak constitutes a public health emergency of international concern”.
“In the first place – Tedros explained – this virus has spread rapidly to many countries that have never seen it before; Second, the three criteria for declaring a public health emergency of international concern, which have been met; Third, the opinion of the Emergency Committee, which did not reach consensus; Fourth, scientific principles, evidence and other relevant information, which are currently insufficient and leave us with many unknowns; And fifth, the risk to human health, international spread and the potential for interference with international traffic”.
WHO: monkeypox is now a global health emergency
It was last May 6 when the alarm was raised in the United Kingdom monkeypoxa viral infectious disease widespread in central Africa for decades which has been rare in recent months and has seen a marked increase in cases.
In this 2022 so far they have been altogether about 17,000 people infected from monkeypox, of which over 10,000 in Europe alone. In total, 74 countries were involved, while in Italia according to the latest bulletin of the Ministry of Health, 407 cases were registered.
Despite the WHO decision and the cases the increase also in our country, ours Ministry of Health immediately he wanted to underline how at this moment there would be unjustified alarmism regarding monkeypox.
“The situation is under constant monitoring – said the general director of prevention of the Ministry of Health Gianni Rezza – Ma it is not believed that it should arouse particular alarmism”.
For Rezza, in fact, in Italy there would be a “tendency to stabilization“, Explaining that in any case the Ministry of Health“with a specific ordinance, it has already prepared, together with the Regions and Autonomous Provinces, the reporting procedures for individual cases”.
At the moment the WHO decision to declare it state of global health emergency for Monkeypoxshould not lead to any Covid-style restrictions in our country: as requested by the WHO, however, surveillance and public health measures will need to be intensified, even if by virtue of the pandemic that has now lasted for two years and a half since parts of the Ministry of Health the objective at this time would seem to be to avoid an excess of alarmism.
