Is Mpox a pandemic? What does the WHO’s global emergency mean?

What does a state of emergency mean?

The World Health Organization defines a global emergency as “an extraordinary event that poses a public health risk to other States through the international spread of disease and may require a coordinated international response.” The recommendation is for health authorities around the world to increase disease surveillance and be prepared to adopt containment measures, if necessary, as was done with border closures during the COVID-19 pandemic, for example.

In addition to the health warning, the WHO decision also has political weight, as it serves as a signal to member countries, such as Brazil, to develop coordinated measures, such as vaccines and treatment, as well as precautions against infection, such as monitoring the conditions of arrival of travelers at ports and airports.

Is it a pandemic?

At a press conference on Wednesday (14), WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus reported that the strain of the virus currently circulating is 1b – and is mostly sexually transmitted (although it is not the only form of transmission). It has been detected mostly in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, but also affects neighboring countries.

Last month, 90 cases were reported in four countries that had never had smallpox before: Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda. “But we are not dealing with a single outbreak from a single sub-sector – we are dealing with multiple outbreaks from different areas in different countries with different modes of transmission and different levels of risk,” he warned.