The number of confirmed cases in the world has increased sharply to exceed the 10,000 mark in more than sixty countries, Europe being the most affected region.
The WHO Emergency Committee on Monkeypox will meet next Thursday to determine what action to take against the current outbreak of the disease, the agency said in a statement on Thursday. In particular, the Committee will have to decide on the seriousness of the resurgence of cases of monkeypox, and on its qualification as “public health emergency of international concern,» the organization’s highest level of alert.
It will meet for the second time, while it had ruled out the increase in the alert level at its previous meeting on June 23. The number of confirmed cases worldwide has since risen sharply to exceed 10,000 in more than 60 countries, with Europe being the most affected region.
Limit contamination
The head of the World Health Organization (WHO), Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, has repeatedly expressed his concern about the spread of the disease outside the countries where it is endemic, and urged member countries to take measures adequate to limit contamination. “I stress again that we must work to stop transmission and advise governments to put in place contact tracing to monitor and contain the virus and provide assistance to people in isolation.“, explained Tuesday Dr. Tedros during a press conference in Geneva.
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