GENEVA: Amid the monkeypox outbreak in more than 70 countries, the World Health Organization on Saturday declared the virus a public health emergency of international concern.

"I have decided that the global monkeypox outbreak represents a public health emergency of international concern.", WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said.

Ghebreyesus said that he convened an emergency committee last month to assess whether the monkeypox outbreak represented a public health emergency of global concern.

The committee came to the conclusion that monkeypox was not represented as a public health emergency of international concern.

Ghebreyesus said that at that time, as many as 3,040 monkeypox cases were reported from 47 countries and till now, over 16,000 cases were reported from 75 countries and territories. He further said that five people have died from that virus.

"In light of the evolving [monkeypox] outbreak, I reconvened the committee on Thursday of this week to review the latest data and advise me accordingly. I thank the committee for its careful consideration of the evidence, and issues," the WHO chief said.

Citing the five elements that are used over deciding whether the outbreak constitutes a public health emergency of international concern, Ghebreyesus said that firstly, the data from countries shows a rapid growth of the virus.

"Second, the three criteria for declaring a public health emergency of international concern under the International Health Regulations, which have been met." He further added that the third one was the advice of the Emergency Committee, which has not reached a consensus.

The fourth one was the scientific principles, evidence and other relevant information, which are insufficient and the last one was the risk to human health, international spread and the potential for interference with international traffic.

"So in short, we have an outbreak that has spread around the world rapidly, through new modes of transmission, about which we understand too little and which meets the criteria in the International Health Regulations," he added.

The WHO chief noted that the risk of monkeypox is moderate globally and in all regions except in the European region where we assess the risk as high.