WHO to convene emergency meeting to assess monkeypox outbreak

World Health Organization head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said Tuesday the global health body will convene an emergency gathering next week to assess whether the ongoing outbreak of monkeypox represents “a public health emergency of international concern.”

The upcoming session of the Emergency Committee, made up of health experts from member countries, is expected to be held on June 23. Tedros consulted with the committee before declaring a global health emergency on Jan. 30, 2020, over the outbreak of the novel coronavirus.

“The global outbreak of monkeypox is clearly unusual and concerning,” the WHO director-general told a press briefing.

Photo taken on Feb. 14, 2020, shows the headquarters of the World Health Organization in Geneva. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

So far this year, more than 1,600 confirmed cases of monkeypox have been reported from 39 countries, including seven African countries where the virus has been detected for years, according to Tedros. No deaths from monkeypox have been reported in any of the newly-affected 32 countries.

The name of the virus refers to its discovery in a monkey during an animal experiment in Denmark in 1958. The first transmission to a human was confirmed in 1970.

The origins of monkeypox remain unclear, though it has been suggested that the virus may have come from rodents in Africa. Amid the uncertainty, Tedros said the WHO is working with partners and experts to change the name of the virus and the disease it causes.

According to the Tokyo-based National Institute of Infectious Diseases, people infected with monkeypox suffer headaches and fevers as well as blisters affecting the face, legs and hands following an incubation period of five to 21 days.

Infection cases in the United States and Europe have been on the rise since May.