WHO experts have noted global progress in responding to the mpox outbreak and the number of reported cases has declined over the past few months, the WHO statement said.
However, some countries continue to report persistent incidence and it is likely that there are unreported and undetected cases in other countries. Therefore, the WHO expert committee and WHO Secretary-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus both affirmed that mpox remains an international public health emergency.
The latest WHO statistics indicate that the risk of an mpox outbreak globally is now assessed as moderate, while it has decreased from moderate to low in the South-East Asia Region. The Western Pacific Region is assessed as low. Two regions, Europe and the Americas, which account for 95% of diagnosed mpox cases, have maintained stable case numbers in recent weeks.
By the end of 2022, the world had recorded more than 82,000 cases of monkeypox in 110 countries and the mortality rate was low - 65 cases.
WHO has officially raised the alert level for the mpox (formerly known as monkeyfox) outbreak in July 2022 to PHEIC - the highest level.
In order to avoid unnecessary misunderstandings and discrimination related to the name of monkeypox, on November 28, 2022, WHO announced the new English name of this disease.
Accordingly, the old English name for monkeypox, “monkeypox”, will be changed to “mpox”. WHO said that after a series of consultations with global experts, WHO will start using the new term “mpox” as a synonym for “monkeypox”. Both names will be used simultaneously for one year, until the term “monkeypox” is completely discontinued.
The name monkeypox comes from the fact that the virus was first discovered in monkeys in a Danish laboratory in 1958. The disease has also been found in other animals, mainly rodents. Scientists first discovered monkeypox in humans in 1970 in the Democratic Republic of Congo, and the disease was confined to countries in Central and West Africa. However, by May 2022, monkeypox had spread rapidly around the world, mainly among men who have sex with men.
Experts say the name monkeypox can cause misconceptions about the origin of the virus as well as create unnecessary stigma./.
Source link
Comment (0)