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The World Health Network (WHN) statement qualifying the current monkeypox outbreak as a pandemic comes as the World Health Organization (WHO) hosts a meeting to decide on their own designation of the outbreak of this contagious disease with cases that are increasing in countries where this disease is not prevalent.
The WHN statement urges national and global health authorities to take immediate and effective action to prevent monkeypox from becoming a disaster.
The Global Health Network is a collaboration of scientific and citizen teams that empower action to promote health and prevent harm. It is independent of any political body or government, and is guided by compassion and scientific rigor.
Even with mortality rates much lower than those of smallpox, unless measures are taken to stop the spread of this viral disease, measures that can be implemented quickly in practice, millions of people may become ill.
This occurs when there are 3,417 confirmed cases of monkeypox in 58 countries and the outbreak is spreading rapidly across several continents.
Great Britain, where almost 800 cases of the virus were recorded last month, has the highest number of infections reported outside of Africa, and case trends in that country are of concern to experts across Europe, because it has become the epicenter of the outbreak and they are heavy I am the best approach to treat the monkeypox outbreak, in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic that has lasted for several years.
The essential purpose to declare a pandemic is to achieve a concerted effort in several countries or throughout the world to avoid widespread damage, maintains the WHN statement.
“There is no justification for waiting for the monkeypox pandemic to continue to grow. The best time to act is now. By taking immediate action, we can control the outbreak with the least effort and prevent the consequences from worsening. The actions needed now only require clear public communication about symptoms, widely available testing, and contact tracing with very few quarantines. Any delay only makes the effort more difficult and the consequences more serious”, said Yaneer Bar-Yam, PhD,
president of the New England Complex Systems Institute and co-founder of WHN.
Monkeypox is a virus with the potential to cause significant harm to people, including an acute painful illness that may require hospitalization and can lead to death, skin scarring, blindness, and other long-term disabilities.
The most vulnerable to serious diseases are children, pregnant people and immunocompromised people.
It may interest you:
– Monkeypox increased to 417 cases in the US US and California is the most affected state with 40 infections, according to the CDC
– WHO admits that monkeypox is a “real risk” for humanity and warned of the urgency of detecting cases
– The CDC publishes new guidance on monkeypox due to the increase in cases in the US