The World Health Organization. Photo courtesy of U.S. Mission Geneva/Eric Bridiers
LONDON (AP) — The chief of the World Health Organization says the expanding monkeypox outbreak in more than 70 countries is an “extraordinary” situation that qualifies as a global emergency.
The head of the U.N. health agency made the decision to issue the declaration Saturday after WHO’s expert committee didn’t reach a consensus.
Monkeypox has been established in parts of central and west Africa for decades.
It wasn’t known to spark large outbreaks beyond the continent or to spread widely among people until May.
That’s when authorities detected epidemics in Europe, North America and elsewhere.
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 16,000 cases of monkeypox have been reported in 74 countries.
Cape & Islands State Senator Julian Cyr recently gave a statement to NECN about the outbreak.
“The general public probably isn’t at risk, at least in Massachusetts right now,” Cyr said.
“But particularly if you are a gay or bisexual man, men who have sex with men, being vigilant about knowing what the symptoms are, looking where you can get a vaccine and getting a vaccine as soon as possible, that’s how we are going to get ahead of this.”
BY MARIA CHENG, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS.
Additional reporting by Brian Engles, CapeCod.com NewsCenter
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