The purpose of the emergency meeting is to assess whether the monkeypox spreading in the Congo is a global health threat.
The World Health Organization (WHO) is holding an emergency meeting due to the spread of monkeypox in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
As of the beginning of 2023, 27,000 monkeypox cases have already been identified in the Congo. More than a thousand people have died from the disease, most of them children.
In addition, 50 monkeypox infections have been confirmed in four other African countries, Rwanda, Kenya, Burundi and Uganda. Monkey pox has not occurred in the countries before.
President of the WHO Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus says that he convened an emergency meeting because monkeypox has spread to Congo’s neighboring countries. The risk is that the virus will spread more widely in Africa and beyond its borders.
At the WHO emergency meeting, international experts will assess whether the disease is a global health threat. WHO says that the meeting will be held as soon as possible, but did not give a more precise date.
In 2022, a different and less dangerous variant of monkeypox spread worldwide, mainly transmitted through sexual intercourse. The WHO then declared an international emergency, which has since ended.
Reuters