WHO: Monkeypox no longer global public health emergency

The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared on Thursday an end to the global health emergency for the monkeypox, adding the virus is still around and further waves and outbreaks could continue, but the highest level of alert is over.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus called on countries to “remain vigilant,” adding that the virus can be passed on by close contact with someone who is infected.

“We now see steady progress in controlling the outbreak based on the lessons of HIV and working closely with the most affected communities,” Tedros said. “I’m pleased to declare that the mpox is no longer a global health emergency,” he added.

Last July, Ghebreyesus declared monkeypox, also known as mpox, to be an “extraordinary” situation that qualified as a global crisis. In doing so, he overruled WHO’s expert committee, which didn’t recommend the emergency designation.

Mpox has been established in parts of central and west Africa for decades, where people are mainly infected by animals like wild rodents, but the disease wasn’t known to spark big outbreaks beyond the continent until last May.