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WHO Declares Mpox Outbreak a Global Health Emergency (cnn.com) 123

The World Health Organization on Wednesday declared the ongoing mpox outbreak in Africa a global health emergency. From a report: WHO convened its emergency mpox committee amid concerns that a deadlier strain of the virus, clade Ib, had reached four previously unaffected provinces in Africa. This strain had previously been contained to the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Independent experts on the committee met virtually Wednesday to advise WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on the severity of the outbreak. After that consultation, he announced Wednesday that he had declared a public health emergency of international concern -- the highest level of alarm under international health law.

Also known as PHEIC, this is a status given by WHO to "extraordinary events" that pose a public health risk to other countries through the international spread of disease. [...] Since the beginning of this year, more than 17,000 cases and more than 500 deaths have been reported in 13 countries in Africa, according to the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which classifies the outbreak as a "very high risk event."

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WHO Declares Mpox Outbreak a Global Health Emergency

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  • Good thing they pressed pause until election season in the USA. Imagine if Sleepy Joe or Cackling Kamala had to stick-handle the questions surrounding the latest gay plague.
  • that's right, our favorite supervillain: Bill "I like money" Gates
    • WTF is it Conspiracy Day at Slashdot? There's like 4 diff conspiracy claims here already.

      I actually have a Mt. Dew conspiracy, but it has nothing to do with germs.

      • I actually have a Mt. Dew conspiracy, but it has nothing to do with germs.

        "Do the Dew" means something far, far darker than most people imagine...

      • by gtall ( 79522 )

        The GQP is always up for another Conspiracy, it gets them airtime on FOX.

      • by Torodung ( 31985 )

        I actually have a Mt. Dew conspiracy, but it has nothing to do with germs.

        That's racist.

        If that goes "woosh," you don't pay attention to the Presidential race gossip, and I completely understand that.

      • WTF is it Conspiracy Day at Slashdot?

        SON of a..did I miss this? C’mon man. Tell me this is a real thing. I’ll get my popcorn and calendar.

        • That's the whole point, man! THEY don't want you to know about Conspiracy Day, man! Cuz if you KNOW, you can talk to other people, and the one thing THEY can't abide is people KNOWING, man!
  • ...estimated probability this will cause a pandemic as least as bad as Covid.

    That's the new "Libraries of Congress" colloquial metric for outbreaks. Or was it soccer fields?

    • Very unlikely. There are visibly distinct symptoms. And if you never develop symptoms it's believed that you also don't become contagious.

      From what I'm reading, it seems like you're contagious for about 1-4 days before visible symptoms appear. But the incubation period is 1-2 weeks. While it's still highly localized there'd be plenty of time for contact tracing before an infected person becomes contagious. Very little of that will probably happen outside of Africa this time around.

      Also, it infects skin

    • ...estimated probability this will cause a pandemic as least as bad as Covid.

      That's the new "Libraries of Congress" colloquial metric for outbreaks.

      Pardon the interruption, but the Grim Reaper from the Black Plague is just outside, and he’d like to have a word with you.

      He seems rather irked at this notion that COVID is even ranked among the best of the best. Keeps mumbling some shit about amateur hour..

  • We need to restrict monkeys, pirates and butt sex! And any combination of those! Why? What do you mean: "just because its effective - doesn't mean its politically correct"?
  • US election (Score:2, Flamebait)

    by colonslash ( 544210 )
    Sounds like they just manufactured another reason for using totally secure mail in ballots for the upcoming US election.
    • Re: US election (Score:2, Informative)

      by clay_buster ( 521703 )

      The US has had mail-in voting since the 1860s. Some states only do mail-in voting.

      Stop the manufactured voting crisis that people are using to disenfranchise millions of Americans. American conservatives want to

      1. Kill 150 years mail-in voting
      2. Kill early voting,
      3. Close polling places in minority districts
      4. Make it illegal to help people get to polling places or hand out water while the poorer voters wait hours in line to vote.
      5. Allow the state to throw out all the votes in the largest minority distri

      • Re: US election (Score:5, Interesting)

        by colonslash ( 544210 ) on Thursday August 15, 2024 @07:25AM (#64707988)
        There was a huge increase in mail in voting in 2020, and it isn't as secure as in-person voting. This should be the exception, not the norm. They're prepping us for more massive mail-in voting in 2024.

        In addition, the voting machines are not secure, and they will be used but not fixed. [politico.com]

        The system isn't auditable. There are plenty from both of the 2 big corporate war parties who regularly contest the results. And the people are right to be skeptical of the results.

        You claim 'American conservatives' blah blah blah. I'm an American, and I'm conservative in lots of ways, and I just want secure elections, easily countable and auditable. I want a voting holiday. I want easily accessible voting for all. I want IDs to be verified. I want polling places to be watched closely. I want everyone to be given a chance to vote, and for there to be very little chance of cheating. I also want some type of voting system that doesn't force people to choose between the 2 big parties, like ranked choice.

        Here are my answers, as an individual, to your points:

        1. Mail-in voting was vastly expanded in 2020, but it should be safe, legal, and rare. People who can should have to make some minimal effort to vote.
        2. Early voting—I don't have an opinion on this, as long as it's done securely (with voter verification)
        3. Closing polling places in minority districts—I think I'm against this, but I'd have to know why they were closing. Was there another polling place 2 blocks away? I highly suspect your framing, my suspicion is that polling places close in lots of areas, and you're focused on just the districts where voters might vote for the blood soaked monsters you like.
        4. I get the water thing; if you can hand out water while wearing a shirt of your candidate, you're influencing votes. If you bus just your voters to the polls, you're influencing the election. People should not be pressured to vote one way or another at the polls. I'd be all for water available to everyone in voting lines, and more public buses running for everyone on voting days.
        5. Don't know the TX situation, but if the votes are suspect and not auditable, they should be thrown out; we need a system where this does not happen.
  • Requires physical skin to skin contact with an infected person or bodily fluids so, even less of a concern than Covid-19 was.

    Though, the WHO will push for EUA authorization of some just-in-time experimental vaccine once again so we can start all
    the same stupidity that came with Covid-19 all over again.

    And, the FDA / CDC will likely grant it once the right people have bought enough stock options in the Companies who will be creating it. :|

  • consists of provinces? I guess my geography knowledge is failing me.

  • I mean, as I understand Mpox is being ROUTINELY spread through intimate contact between gay males with many partners, at least the last EU outbreak(s) directly coincided with gay BDSM events.

    https://www.who.int/europe/new... [who.int]

    Maybe just stop raw-dog fucking everything that moves for a bit, eh Chuck? Is that possible?

  • Do to inaction with vaccines, are we at the cusp of another form of Smallpox type disease getting out everywhere?

    Smallpox is *EVIL*. A thousand times worse than the hemorrhagic influenza of the early 1900's.

    There is a reason so much money was spent on eradicating smallpox.

    Now we have a replacement candidate that seems to be only of concern to the WHO?

    Ever hear of airplanes? boats? asymptomatic vectors?

    It is also spread by touch ANY TOUCH Think doorknobs, sit down toilets, et al.

    It is not a sex disease, sex

  • Name had to be changed because "monkeypox" is offensive to monkeys.

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