monkeypox has been declared a global emergency. what does that mean?

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it doesn't mean the virus is deadly, for one thing.

by maija kappler

published jul 25, 2022

last updated feb 16, 2023

5 minute read

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5 minute read

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what does it mean that monkey pox is a 'global emergency?'

a healthcare worker prepares a syringe at a monkeypox vaccination clinic run by ciusss public health authorities in montreal, quebec, canada, june 6, 2022. reuters/christinne muschi/file photo

on saturday, the world health organization (who) declared monkeypox a “public health emergency of international concern.” that designation is one among group’s highest level of alerts — but it doesn’t necessarily mean the virus is ultra-contagious or that it’s deadly. what it means, essentially, is that the who recommends that governments of different countries should work together to try to prevent its spread.

“we have an outbreak that has spread around the world rapidly, through new modes of transmission, about which we understand too little,” who director general tedros adhanom ghebreyesus said. “for all of these reasons, i have decided that the global monkeypox outbreak represents a public health emergency of international concern.”

what is monkeypox?

to back up a little: monkeypox is a virus from the same family as smallpox. it can cause symptoms including large bumps or lesions on the body that may be filled with pus, painful rashes around the genitals, fever, fatigue, headache, chills, sore throat, cough, swollen lymph nodes and body aches.

it usually lasts between two to four weeks. the illness can be very painful and uncomfortable, but most people do recover. it’s most dangerous to children and people with weakened immune systems. in some rare cases, it can lead to complications including sepsis, encephalitis, or pneumonia. it can also cause death in people who don’t have adequate access to medical care. there have been three deaths from monkeypox reported this year, all in african countries.

what does it mean that it’s now a “global health emergency?”

until recently, monkeypox was quite rare outside of central and west africa. but this year, it has exploded in regions without histories of outbreaks. more than 80 per cent of monkeypox infections globally are now in europe, and the virus has also spread to the americas. as of july 25, there are 681 known cases in canada, most being in quebec and ontario.

the designation of global health emergency has been used six times since it was first established during the sars outbreak of 2005, according to smithsonian magazine. it’s been used to define the swine flu pandemic of 2009, ebola in 2014, polio in 2014, zika in 2016, another ebola outbreak in 2019, and, of course, covid in early 2020.

these designations are decided by the international health regulations emergency committee, a group of and infectious disease experts from around the world. the committee for monkeypox includes 16 members as well as nine advisors. (canada’s chief public health officer dr. theresa tam is one of the advisors.)

the members didn’t unanimously agree that monkeypox should be considered a global health emergency, however. while the illness meets the criteria in several ways: there are rising cases all over the world; we still don’t fully understand how it’s transmitted; it impacts people differently in a way that isn’t yet understood, and future waves of the virus are expected; the “severity of the disease is perceived to be low.” in fact, so farm it seems largely contained to 12 countries in europe and the americas.

is monkeypox is a “gay disease?”

no. “this is not a gay disease, as some people in social media have attempted to label it,” dr. andy seale, who’s strategies advisor for global hiv, hepatitis & sti programmes, said in a healthing q&a on may 23. “anybody can contract monkeypox through close contact.”

the virus can be transmitted during sex, but it’s not an sti. and while transmission within the general population seems relatively low, poxviruses can survive on clothing and surfaces, especially in places that are dark, cool and dry — so it’s possible someone could catch the virus via an infected surface, for example.

that being said, a high proportion of known cases so far have been identified in men who have sex with men, so it makes sense that existing resources — like vaccines — are being distributed in those communities first.

one potential downside of identifying the lgbtq community as vulnerable to the virus, though, is the potential for stigma. that was one of the reasons who was hesitant to make the designation of global health emergency: they worried about “the stigma, marginalization, and discrimination that a determination of a [public health emergency of international concern] may generate against the currently affected communities, especially in countries where homosexuality is criminalized, lgbti+ communities are not well established and engaged in a dialogue with governments.”

aaron purdie, executive director of the health initiative for men in b.c., told the canadian press that stigmatizing an already marginalized community could be as harmful as the disease itself. some rhetoric around gay men and monkeypox carries ugly echoes of the way gay men were treated during the aids epidemic of the 1980s and ’90s.

“stigma spreads like a virus,” purdie said. “yes, it’s treatable. yes, it’s containable. but it spreads nonetheless.”

how is monkeypox prevented?

some of the prevention measures are the same common-sense things we did to prevent early transmission of covid: practice good hygiene, wash hands thoroughly and regularly, disinfect high-touch surfaces. and anyone who has a confirmed case of monkeypox, or who has rashes or lesions they don’t

is there a treatment for monkeypox?

there’s no known treatment for monkeypox. there’s also no specific monkeypox vaccine, although the smallpox vaccine has been approved as a prevention measure in some cases. unfortunately, however, there are limited amounts of that vaccine: canadians aren’t typically immunized against smallpox since the illness has essentially been eradicated, largely because of past vaccines. that vaccine, imvamune, is typically given in two doses 28 days apart, cbc news has reported. but due to limited supply, ontario has said it would offer just one dose to vulnerable people living in areas with high reported case counts. many cities are offering vaccines primarily to people who have had close contact with someone who had a confirmed case on monkeypox, and/or to men who have sex with men.

still, there’s high demand for vaccine access: the canadian press reported this weekend that some american tourists who haven’t been able to access a vaccine at home are going to walk-in clinics in montreal. that’s a sensible choice that will help keep the virus from spreading, mcgill university infectious diseases specialist michael libman told the news agency.

maija kappler is a reporter and editor at healthing. you can reach her at mkappler@postmedia.com

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monkeypox has been declared a global emergency. what does that mean?