Monkeypox is not yet a global health emergency, the World Health Organization (WHO) said recently, though intense response efforts are needed to control the further spread of the rare viral disease. The announcement came Saturday – two days after WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreysus convened an emergency committee on the disease, under the International Health Regulations (IHR), to address the rising caseload. "The WHO Director-General concurs with the advice offered by the IHR Emergency Committee regarding the multi-country monkeypox outbreak, and, at present, does not determine that the event constitutes a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC)," the UN agency said. The PHEIC declaration is the highest level of global alert, which currently applies only to the Covid-19 pandemic and polio. Monkeypox occurs primarily in tropical rainforest areas of Central and West Africa, though it is occasionally exported to other regions. Since May, more than 3,000 cases have emerged in 47 countries, many of which never previously reported the disease. The highest numbers are currently in Europe, and most cases are among men who have sex with men. There have been few hospitalisations to date and one death. "The Committee unanimously acknowledged the emergency nature of the outbreak and that controlling further spread requires intense response efforts," the WHO said. Members also recommended that the situation should be closely monitored and reviewed after a few weeks. "What makes the current outbreak especially concerning is rapid, continuing spread into new countries and regions and the risk of further, sustained transmission into vulnerable populations including people that are immunocompromised, pregnant women and children," Tedros said.  He underscored the need for both collective attention and coordinated action through public health measures including surveillance, contact tracing, isolation and care of patients, and ensuring vaccines, treatments and other tools are available to at-risk populations and shared fairly. Also read: Monkeypox: Global situation cannot be ignored amid uncertainty, says WHO chief

The Israeli Ministry of Health on Saturday confirmed the country's first monkeypox case after the viral disease has recently been detected across North America and Europe. A man in his 30s returning from western Europe, who visited Ichilov Hospital in Tel Aviv with suspicious lesions of the virus and identified by the ministry as Israel's first suspected case of monkeypox was proved to have contracted the disease, according to a ministry statement. A clinical sample was tested at the Israel Institute for Biological Research, where the suspicion of monkeypox was verified, according to the statement. Also read: What is monkeypox and where is it spreading? The man, who was exposed to a monkeypox patient in western Europe, has been hospitalized in quarantine to complete medical examination and supervision. According to the ministry, the man is in good medical condition. The ministry also called on those who had returned from abroad and developed a fever and a blistering rash to see a doctor. Recently, cases of monkeypox have been reported in the United States, Canada, Australia and several western European countries. Monkeypox is common in wild animals like rodents and primates, but humans can also get infected with the virus. Symptoms include skin rashes, fever, headache, muscle ache, backache, swollen lymph nodes, chills and exhaustion. Also read: African scientists baffled by monkeypox cases in Europe, US The rash eventually forms a scab, which later falls off, indicating that the person is no longer infectious.