WHO declares monkeypox a global emergency

Test tubes labelled "Monkeypox virus positive and negative" are seen in this illustration taken May 23, 2022. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration

LONDON (AP): The chief of the World Health Organization (WHO) said the expanding monkeypox outbreak in more than 70 countries is an "extraordinary” situation that now qualifies as a global emergency, a declaration Saturday (July 23) that could spur further investment in treating the once-rare disease and worsen the scramble for scarce vaccines.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus made the decision to issue the declaration despite a lack of consensus among experts serving on the U.N. health agency's emergency committee. It was the first time the chief of the U.N. health agency has taken such an action.