MPOX - SCI & TECH
News: WHO declares end to MPOX public health emergency
What is in the news?
● The
World Health Organization (WHO) said it was ending a near year-long global
health emergency for MPOX, a viral disease that led to confirmed cases in more
than a hundred countries.
Key takeaways:
● The
organisation declared MPOX a public health emergency of international concern
in July 2022.
● The
WHO declared the end of the emergency status for the disease based on the
recommendation of the organisation's emergency committee.
● The
WHO recently also declared an end of
public health emergency status for COVID-19.
About Public Health Emergency of International Concern
(PHEIC):
● A
PHEIC is defined in the International Health Regulations (IHR, 2005) as, “an extraordinary event which is determined
to constitute a public health risk to other States through the international
spread of disease and to potentially require a coordinated international
response”. This definition implies a situation that is:
a. Serious,
sudden, unusual or unexpected;
b. Carries
implications for public health beyond the affected State’s national border; and
c. May
require immediate international action.
● The
Emergency Committee, made up of international experts, provides technical
advice to the WHO Director-General in the context of a PHEIC.
● Previous instances:
The alert has previously been issued for
a. Ebola
b. H1N1
Swine Flu
c. Poliovirus
d. Covid-19
e. Zika
Virus.
MPOX disease:
● Monkeypox
(MPOX) is a viral zoonotic disease
with symptoms similar to smallpox, although with less clinical severity.
● The
infection was first discovered in 1958 following two outbreaks of a pox-like
disease in colonies of monkeys kept for research — which led to the name
‘monkeypox’.
● It
is caused by monkeypox virus, a member
of the Orthopoxvirus genus in the family Poxviridae.
● The
natural host of the virus remains unidentified.
Symptoms:
● Fever
● Rash
and swollen lymph nodes
● Headaches
and nausea
Transmission:
● Mostly
transmitted to people from wild animals such as rodents and primates.
● Human-to-human
transmission also occurs.
● Monkeypox
virus is transmitted from one person to another by contact with lesions, body
fluids, respiratory droplets and contaminated materials such as bedding.
Treatment:
● There
is no specific treatment or vaccine
available for Monkeypox infection. In the past, the anti-smallpox vaccine was shown to be 85% effective in preventing
Monkeypox.