2nd Time WHO has set up Emergency Committee - 1st time was during 2009 H1N1 Pandemic -

WHO sets up emergency panel for guidance on MERS

Robert Roos | News Editor | CIDRAP News

Jul 05, 2013

Excerpt:

 

Keiji Fukuda, MD, the WHO's assistant director-general for health security and environment, announced the formation of the emergency committee at a press conference in Geneva today. The agency posted a recording of the briefing.

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He described the step as a proactive move, because there's no "acute emergency" with regard to MERS. The pattern of cases has been fairly steady over the past 3 months, with 19 in April, 21 in May, and 22 in June, he said.

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The new committee is the second emergency panel the WHO has set up under the International Health Regulations (IHR), the current version of which took effect in 2007. The first time the WHO took the step came during the 2009 H1N1 influenza pandemic, Fukuda explained.

http://www.cidrap.umn.edu/news-perspective/2013/07/who-sets-emergency-panel-guidance-mers