WHO emergency committee meets again as Monkeypox cases exceed 14,000

New Delhi, July 22: As the global Monkeypox cases passed the 14,000-mark with six countries reporting their first cases last week, the World Health Organization (WHO) reconvened the Monkeypox Emergency Committee to assess the public health implications of the evolving multi-country outbreak.

The committee first met last month but decided against declaring it a public health emergency of international concern.

On Thursday, WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus acknowledged his "acute" awareness that any decision regarding the possible determination involves "the consideration of many factors, with the ultimate goal of protecting public health". The committee has already helped "delineate the dynamics of this outbreak," he said in his opening remarks to committee members and advisors.

"As the outbreak develops, it's important to assess the effectiveness of public health interventions in different settings, to better understand what works, and what doesn't". Monkeypox, a rare viral disease, occurs primarily in tropical rainforest areas of Central and West Africa, though it has been exported to other regions. This year, more than 14,000 cases have been reported across 71 Member States, from all six WHO regions.

Tedros revealed that six countries reported their first cases last week and that the vast majority continue to be among men who have sex with men. "This transmission pattern represents both an opportunity to implement targeted public health interventions, and a challenge because in some countries, the communities affected face life-threatening discrimination," he said. He warned of "a very real concern" that men who have sex with men could be "stigmatized or blamed...making the outbreak much harder to track, and to stop".

"As many of you know from your deep engagement with these communities, there is a very real concern that men who have sex with men could be stigmatised or blamed for the outbreak, making the outbreak much harder to track, and to stop," the WHO chief said. He further affirmed that one of the most powerful tools against monkeypox is information, "The more information people at risk of Monkeypox have, the more they are able to protect themselves," Tedros said.

"Unfortunately, the information shared with WHO by countries in West and Central Africa is still very scant," he added.

Meanwhile, India reported its second Monkeypox case on Monday after a 31-year-old man from Kannur in Kerala tested positive for the disease.

The patient had landed at the Mangalore airport in coastal Karnataka from Dubai on July 13. He was admitted to a hospital after he exhibited symptoms of the disease. His samples were sent to the National Institute of Virology, Pune, and they tested positive for the virus, the official said.

The first case was reported in Kerala after a 35-year-old man who returned from the UAE on July 15.