New Delhi
Regional Director of WHO’s South-East Asia Region on Sunday called on member countries to strengthen surveillance and public health measures for monkeypox, with the disease being declared a public health emergency of international concern by the global health body. Monkeypox has been spreading rapidly and to many countries that have not seen it before, which is a matter of great concern, said Dr Poonam Khetrapal Singh, Regional Director, WHO South-East Asia Region. However, with cases concentrated among men who have sex with men, it is possible to curtail further spread of the disease with focused efforts among at-risk population, she said. Globally, over 16,000 cases of monkeypox have been reported from 75 countries. In the WHO South-East Asia Region, four cases of monkeypox have been reported, three from India and one from Thailand. The cases in India are among nationals who returned home from the Middle East, while in Thailand a Nigerian living in the country has been confirmed positive for monkeypox. Importantly, our focused efforts and measures should be sensitive, devoid of stigma or discrimination, the regional director said. The decision to term monkeypox as a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC) was announced by Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General WHO on Saturday, a day after he convened yet another meeting of the International Health Regulations (IHR) emergency committee to review the multi-country outbreak. Though the risk of monkeypox globally and in the Region is moderate, the potential of its further international spread is real. Also, there are still many unknowns about the virus. We need to stay alert and prepared to roll out intense response to curtail further spread of monkeypox, Dr Khetrapal Singh said.
