More than 6,000 cases of monkeypox have been reported in 58 different countries since the outbreak began in early May, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Wednesday.
The United Nations agency will convene, during the week of July 18 or even before, a new meeting of the Emergency Committee of the international health regulations, specified the director general of the WHO, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, during a videoconference in Geneva.
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At its previous meeting on June 27, the committee considered that the epidemic, which is not limited to African countries where the disease usually spreads, did not yet constitute a health emergency.
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Many unreported cases
“I remain concerned about the scale and spread of the virus around the world”Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said, adding that due to lack of testing, many cases were likely going unreported.
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About 80% of cases have been recorded in Europe, he said.
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