Opening remarks at 3rd meeting of the IHR Emergency Committee in Geneva, World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus noted on October 20 that the number of reported cases of monkeypox has dropped for eight straight weeks.   

He noted that when the Emergency Committee first met in June, just 3000 cases of monkeypox had been reported to WHO. 

By the Committee’s second meeting, there were 16,000 cases and now, more than 70,000 cases of monkeypox have been reported, including 26 deaths, UN health agency head said.   

“However, we are now seeing a promising decline globally,” said WHO director-general.  “The number of reported cases has dropped for eight straight weeks.  This is very encouraging.”

At the same time, he noted that progress in the Americas is less certain, and this region accounted for almost 90% of cases reported last week.

“Several countries are still entering the peak phase of the outbreak, and there is likely to be under reporting in others,” said Ghebreyesus.  “We are also seeing several other situations which are cause of concern.  In Ghana, there is a surge of cases, with 4 deaths.  And in Sudan, we are seeing a separate outbreak of clade one monkeypox.”

According to him, vaccines and treatments to prevent and control monkeypox outbreaks are not available everywhere. Scaling up and decentralizing diagnostic capacity are critical.

WHO director-general further noted that stopping human-to-human transmission of monkeypox globally requires a comprehensive approach, with public health measures focused on communities at highest risk.

Engagement with affected communities, giving them a voice in the response, is essential, he added.   

As far as Tajikistan is concerned, no cases of monkeypox have been reported in country so far.

Monkeypox is a rare disease caused by infection with the monkeypox virus. Monkeypox virus is part of the same family of viruses as variola virus, the virus that causes smallpox. Monkeypox symptoms are similar to smallpox symptoms, but milder, and monkeypox is rarely fatal. Monkeypox is not related to chickenpox.

Monkeypox was discovered in 1958 when two outbreaks of a pox-like disease occurred in colonies of monkeys kept for research. Despite being named “monkeypox,” the source of the disease remains unknown. However, African rodents and non-human primates (like monkeys) might harbor the virus and infect people.

The first human case of monkeypox was recorded in 1970. Prior to the 2022 outbreak, monkeypox had been reported in people in several central and western African countries. Previously, almost all monkeypox cases in people outside of Africa were linked to international travel to countries where the disease commonly occurs or through imported animals. These cases occurred on multiple continents.