NEW DELHI: The World Health Organisation (WHO) has said that monkeypox, the zoonotic viral disease, which has been reported in over 100 countries, including India, is still a global health emergency of concern.
The WHO announcement came at its third meeting of the International Health Regulations (2005) (IHR) Emergency Committee regarding the multi-country viral disease outbreak. The WHO labels public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC) to convey a coordinated global response in not only collaboration on sharing vaccines and treatments but also in unlocking funds.
According to Dr Pargya Yadav, a top scientist at the National Institute of Virology, Pune (NIV)-Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), India is fully prepared and has already trained Viral Research and Diagnostic Laboratories (VRDL) facilities to screen samples for monkeypox.
In India, 20 monkeypox cases, including one death, have been reported. While Kerala reported six cases – all had travelled from UAE – including the youth who died, Delhi reported the maximum number with 14 monkeypox cases.
“In this situation when monkeypox virus is showing mutation, it is important to keep monitoring and do the testing and sequencing for suspected cases,” Dr Yadav, who has been successful in isolating the monkeypox virus from the clinical specimen of a patient, paving the way for the development of diagnostic kits and vaccines against the disease, said on WHO continuing to declare monkeypox as a global health emergency.
Dr Yadav, who headed the team that developed Covaxin, India’s first indigenous Covid-19 vaccine, said Covid had taught us to be vigilant during an outbreak till we are sure about the endgame of the disease.
Globally, there have been 77,092 cases in 106 countries as of October 31, while 36 deaths have been reported.
"The Emergency Committee acknowledged that some progress has been made in the global response to the multi-country outbreak of monkeypox since the last meeting, including the emerging information on the effectiveness of behavioural interventions and vaccines," the WHO said.
WHO Director-General, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said there had been a promising decline in global cases. "The number of reported cases has dropped for eight straight weeks. This is very encouraging."
Though in the meeting some progress was acknowledged, it was felt Public Health Emergency of International Concern should continue.
In July, the WHO said the rapidly spreading monkeypox outbreak represented a global health emergency.
Since early May 2022, cases of monkeypox have been reported in countries where the disease is not endemic and continue to be registered in several endemic countries.
Most confirmed cases with travel history reported travel to countries in Europe and North America rather than West or Central Africa, where the monkeypox virus is endemic.
This is the first time that many monkeypox cases and clusters have been reported concurrently in non-endemic and endemic countries in disparate geographical areas.
Most reported cases so far have been identified through sexual health or other health services in primary or secondary healthcare facilities. They have involved mainly, but not exclusively, men who have sex with men, according to WHO.