The World Health Organization (WHO) announced on Thursday that the Mpox epidemic (formerly known as ‘monkeypox’) was no longer a global health emergency, one year after the warning about its spread.

At the end of 2022, the The Ecuadorian Ministry of Health registered a total of 400 cases.

Mpox “no longer represents a public health emergency of international magnitude,” WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a press conference in Geneva, adding that he had followed the recommendation of the entity’s Emergency Committee.

This announcement comes exactly one week after the institution will lift maximum warning for covid-19.

“Although the warnings for Mpox and covid-19 have ended, the threat of new waves for both remains. The two viruses continue to circulate and both continue to killTedros warned.

In May 2022, Mpox outbreaks began to be recorded in Europe and the United States, outside of the dozens of countries in Central and West Africa where the disease has been endemic for some time.

This was stated by the WHO Director-General international public health emergency on July 23, 2022.

Since then, the number of infections has decreased considerably. There have been “nearly 90% fewer cases these three months compared to the previous three months,” Tedros explains.

Total, More than 87,000 cases have been recorded in 111 countries and the disease has caused 140 deaths, according to the latest count.

Forms of infection

Since the vast majority of infections reported worldwide occurred in men who had sex with other men, it was initially feared that there was a problem of discrimination in the response to the epidemic.

The head of WHO also pointed out that people living with HIV without treatment are mainly exposed to Mpox.

The disease is characterized by skin rash that can occur on the genitals or in the mouth. It can cause fever, sore throat or lymph nodes.

It is transmitted through close contact with infected people or animals, as well as through objects contaminated by the patient, such as clothing or bedding.