WHO says monkeypox is not an international public health emergency, but it should continue to be monitored - CNN

The result of the meeting was announced Saturday.

"Overall, in the report, they (the emergency committee) advised me that at this moment the event does not constitute a Public Health Emergency of International Concern, which is the highest level of alert WHO can issue but recognized that the convening of the committee itself reflects the increasing concern about the international spread of monkeypox," WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in the statement released Saturday.

Tedros on Thursday called for intensified surveillance for monkeypox, cautioning that "while men who have sex with men have been most affected in these new outbreaks, there are also risks of severe disease for immunocompromised persons, pregnant women and children if they are infected."

Health care workers are also at risk if they don't wear appropriate personal protective equipment, Tedros said in his opening remarks at the meeting.

Last week, Tedros said "the virus is behaving unusually from how it used to behave in the past" and as more countries became affected, a coordinated response was necessary.

Saturday's statement acknowledged the "evolving health threat" that the WHO would be following extremely closely.

What is a public health emergency of international concern?

The WHO defines a public health emergency of international concern, or PHEIC, as "an extraordinary event" that constitutes a "public health risk to other States through the international spread of disease" and "to potentially require a coordinated international response."

This definition comes from the International Health Regulations, which were created in 2005 and represent a legal agreement involving 196 countries with the aim of helping the international community prevent and respond to public health risks that have the potential to spread around the globe.