<Anchor> The
World Health Organization (WHO) has declared an international public health emergency over the monkey pox infection.
Monkeypox currently has infected more than 16,000 people in 75 countries, and has seen a surge in recent years.
Reporter Hak-Hwi Kim on the sidewalk.
<Reporter> The
World Health Organization (WHO) has declared monkeypox a global public health emergency.
This is the highest public health alert the WHO can make.
[Ghebreyesus / WHO Director-General: Monkeypox is spreading by a new transmission method that we are not familiar with.
This is in line with international health emergency standards.]
Currently, there are over 16,000 cases of monkeypox in 75 countries, of which 5 have died, the WHO estimates.
Considering that until last month, the number of patients around the world was around 3,000, the rapid increase is remarkable.
The WHO appears to have determined that monkeypox needs to be proactive before it spreads to more countries.
The WHO declaration of an international public health emergency is the 7th case of monkey pox in history, starting with influenza A in 2009.
Currently, there is a state of emergency only for COVID-19 and polio.
With this declaration of emergency, the WHO is expected to strongly promote research and funding for disease control and international health measures.