WHO declares monkeypox outbreak a global health emergency (NYSE:ABT)
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The World Health Organization (WHO) designated the current monkeypox outbreak a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC) on Saturday.
PHEIC designation is WHO’s highest level of warning, previously issued for the COVID-19 pandemic and Ebola. The decision follows a meeting of the WHO’s Emergency Committee on Thursday in which the advisors could not reach a consensus.
However, the Director-General of the WHO, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, overruled the committee’s decision on Saturday to add PHEIC designation to the current outbreak, which has so far caused over 16,000 cases across 75 countries.
“Under the International Health Regulations, I am required to consider five elements in deciding whether an outbreak constitutes a public health emergency of international concern,” Dr. Tedros noted.
Vaccine developers for monkeypox: Bavarian Nordic (OTCPK:BVNKF) (OTCPK:BVNRY), Emergent BioSolutions (EBS), Chimerix (CMRX).
Developers of therapeutics for monkeypox: GeoVax Labs (GOVX), SIGA Technologies (SIGA), and Tonix Pharmaceuticals (TNXP).
Monkeypox test makers: Co-Diagnostics (CODX), Roche (OTCQX:RHHBY) (OTCQX:RHHBF), Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)
The recent surge of monkeypox cases around the world sent the values of Bavarian Nordic (OTCPK:BVNKF) and SIGA (SIGA) sharply higher in recent weeks, as shown in this graph.
