Published on : 14/06/2022 – 22:30Modified : 14/06/2022 – 22:29
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Geneva (AFP) – Faced with the “worrying” spread of monkeypox, reported in nearly 40 countries, the WHO will convene a meeting next week to assess whether the virus represents a “public health emergency of international concern”.
Less than a week after calling on states to “control the outbreak”, the Director General of the World Health Organization, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, on Tuesday deemed the spread of the epidemic “unusual and worrying”.
“The situation requires a coordinated response,” he said at a press conference, announcing the June 23 convening of the WHO emergency committee.
Since the beginning of May, more than 1,600 confirmed cases have been reported in 39 countries, including 32 where the disease is not endemic – and where no death has yet been recorded.
Counting on the help of international experts to “better understand” monkeypox, the WHO is also considering “changing the name of the virus”, said Dr Tedros, promising “announcements as soon as possible” on this point. .
The priority nevertheless remains “to help countries contain transmission and stop the epidemic” by “proven” means such as “surveillance, contact tracing and isolation of infected patients”, he said. recalled.
vaccine race
The WHO has also tempered the growing enthusiasm for smallpox vaccines, while the European Commission announced on Tuesday a contract with the Danish laboratory Bavarian Nordic for the supply of more than 100,000 doses.
The European Medicines Agency (EMA) had already indicated at the beginning of June that it was in contact “as a precaution” with this manufacturer, while hoping that it would file “as soon as possible” an application for authorization of its product against monkey pox.
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The United States, which is banking on the vaccination of contact cases, has also purchased more than 300,000 doses of this serum, to supplement its stock of 100 million units of another vaccine from French Sanofi.
But “mass” vaccination is not recommended at this stage, WHO said in interim guidelines released on Tuesday, stressing that “any decision whether or not to use vaccines should be made (…) on the basis of a risk-benefit assessment, on a case-by-case basis”.
However, Dr Tedros said it was “essential that vaccines be equitably available where they are needed” and said his organization was working with its member states and partners to develop a mechanism for equitable access to vaccines and treatments.
An anti-smallpox drug, tecovirimat, was approved by the EMA for monkeypox earlier this year, but it is not yet widely available.
The disease usually resolves spontaneously, after two to three weeks of flu-like symptoms followed by rashes. But these clinical signs can be “mild” and difficult to identify, or even “misdiagnosed”, US authorities have warned.
© 2022 AFP
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