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Monkeypox declared a global health emergency

WHO's chief declared monkeypox a global health emergency, citing a rapid escalation in cases to more than 16,000 among 75 nations and territories.

Lesions caused by the monkeypox virus
Lesions caused by the monkeypox virus (AN/U.K. Health Security Agency)

The monkeypox outbreak qualifies as a global health emergency, the World Health Organization’s Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus declared on Saturday, citing a rapid escalation in cases to more than 16,000 reported from 75 nations and territories in recent weeks.

That means the world faces three simultaneous global health emergencies — polio since 2014; COVID-19 since 2020; and monkeypox — that WHO believes deserve a coordinated response, though the U.N. health agency cannot require countries to do anything. Only COVID-19 has been declared a pandemic.

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