Current context: The World Health Organisation (WHO) declared the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) as a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) on 30th January 2020.
b. 1, 3 and 4
c. 2, 3 and 4
d. All 1,2,3 and 4
- The decision was taken in the second consecutive meeting of the Emergency Committee.
- The committee was convened by the WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus under the International Health Regulations (IHR) (2005).
- The decision was taken regarding the outbreak of coronavirus in China with exportations to other countries and prevent it from spreading to countries with weaker health systems.
- The declaration serves the notice to all United Nations member states that the situation is “serious".
- The respective countries can make their own decisions if they want to close their borders, cancel flights, screen people arriving at airports or take other protective measures.
- In the past, the WHO declared five diseases as PHEIC:
- Pandemic influenza (H1N1) in 2009
- Polio resurgence in 2014
- Ebola epidemic in West Africa in 2014
- Zika virus outbreak in 2016
- Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo in 2019
Question:
Q.1 Which among the following outbreaks have been declared as a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) by the World Health Organisation (WHO) till date?- Coronavirus(2019-nCoV)
- Pandemic influenza (H1N1) in 2009
- Zika virus outbreak in 2016
- Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo in 2019
b. 1, 3 and 4
c. 2, 3 and 4
d. All 1,2,3 and 4
