More than 15,800 people in 72 countries have contracted monkeypox, according to a count published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention this month.
18:05•Updated 18:11
The World Health Organization (WHO) declared monkeypox a global health threat on Saturday.
– We have an epidemic that has spread rapidly around the world through new modes of transmission, about which we understand too little, said the Director General of the WHO Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. Tedros spoke at a virtual press conference in the afternoon Finnish time.
He said that there are ways to stop the disease and we can try to prevent its transformation.
According to the WHO, half of the countries that have reported the virus have vaccines against the disease.
According to the calculation published by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on July 20, more than 15,800 people in 72 countries have been infected with monkeypox.
Last month, a WHO expert committee said the global monkeypox outbreak did not yet constitute an international emergency. The panel met this week to reassess the situation.
By declaring a state of emergency, the WHO aims to implement global countermeasures to prevent the spread of monkeypox.
In the past, the coronavirus, Ebola and the Zika virus have been declared global health threats.