Monkeypox outbreak: WHO Emergency Committee meets on 21 July.

On Thursday 21 July 2022, the WHO Emergency Committee on Monkeypox will hold its second meeting. The aim is to determine the measures to be taken to control the spread of the disease. The information is given by the UN agency through a press release published on Thursday 14 July.

The first meeting of the Emergency Committee on Monkeypox took place on 23 June and will meet again on 21 July. At this meeting, they will focus on the seriousness of the upsurge in monkeypox cases and its classification as a public health emergency of international concern.

An unexpected spike in infection in several countries around the world.

While there were only a few confirmed cases of monkeypox in the world, the rate of infection has recently increased sharply. According to the WHO, the number of confirmed cases has already exceeded the 10,000 mark in more than 60 countries, with Europe leading the way. In Africa, there are 1,392 reported cases of monkeypox, of which 44 are confirmed. This has led the head of the World Health Organisation (WHO), Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, to express concern on several occasions about the spread of the disease outside the countries where it is endemic. He called on member countries to take appropriate measures to limit contamination.

What you need to know about monkeypox.

Scientifically termed “simian orthopoxvirosis”, monkeypox is a viral disease with symptoms similar to those seen in smallpox patients. According to the World Health Organisation, monkeypox originates in central and western African countries such as Nigeria and Cameroon. In the case of Nigeria, monkeypox was reported mainly in the south of the country until 2019 and, since 2020, the virus has spread to the central, eastern and northern regions of the country. In Europe, the UK reported its first case on 17 May 2022. About 400 other cases are reported afterwards by the WHO in several countries that are not usually affected by the virus.