Geneva: The rising cases of monkeypox across various countries prompted the World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on Saturday to declare the virus a global health emergency.

In his briefing, Tedros said the expanding monkeypox outbreak in more than 70 countries is an “extraordinary” situation that now qualifies as a global emergency. Monkeypox outbreak can be stopped with the right strategies in the right groups, he said.

There's currently no specific treatment for monkeypox but the global health body’s Saturday declaration could spur further investment in treating the once-rare disease.

LIVE: Media briefing on #monkeypox with @DrTedros https://t.co/2DkNE1eeoU
— World Health Organization (WHO) (@WHO) July 23, 2022

Declaring a global emergency means the monkeypox outbreak is an “extraordinary event” that could spill over into more countries and requires a coordinated global response.

To date, monkeypox deaths have only been reported in Africa, mainly in Nigeria and Congo. As per latest figures, more than 16,000 cases of monkeypox have been reported in 74 countries since about May.

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It may be recalled here that WHO previously declared emergencies for public health crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2014 West African Ebola outbreak, the Zika virus in Latin America in 2016 and the ongoing effort to eradicate polio.