The World Health Organisation (WHO) will convene an emergency meeting to discuss whether the rising cases of the mpox virus in Africa warrants being declared a public health emergency of international concern.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Wednesday that he would convene the emergency committee "as soon as possible".
Independent experts from a range of relevant disciplines across the globe are expected to be invited.
"In light of the spread of #mpox outside #DRC, and the potential for further international spread within and outside Africa, I have decided to convene an Emergency Committee under the International Health Regulations to advise me on whether the outbreak represents a public health emergency of international concern," he wrote on X.
"The committee will meet as soon as possible and will be made up of independent experts from a range of relevant disciplines from around the world," he added.
Mpox Outbreak In Congo
Since the beginning of 2023, around 27,000 mpox cases have been reported in Congo, where the infection has killed over 1,100 people, most of them children, Reuters reported.
Another 50 cases were confirmed, while more were suspected in countries like Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda, which did not report mpox cases earlier.
Mpox, also known as monkeypox, was detected in 10 African countries, including Congo, which has recorded over 96% of all cases and deaths, the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported last week.
The cases have jumped by 160% and deaths have increased by 19% in comparison with the same period last year.
On a call with media persons, Tedros noted that $1 million was released from the WHO contingency fund for "emergencies to support scale-up of the response and we plan to release more in the coming days".
He said the agency triggered the process for emergency use listing of Bavarian Nordic's Jynneos and KM Biologics LC16.
As per reports, the outbreak started with the spread of 'Clade I,' an endemic strain. However, a new variant, 'Clade Ib' now appears to be spreading more fast through routine close contact.
Mpox Symptoms
The viral disease can be transmitted through physical contact with the infected person as well as animals or contaminated materials.
Some of its most common symptoms include skin rash or lesions, fever, muscle aches, headache, back pain as well as swollen lymph nodes.
It came to global prominence two years ago after mpox cases emerged worldwide during the COVID-19 pandemic. Later on, it was declared a public health emergency of international concern in July 2022. It ended the following May.