The World Health Organisation has announced plans to re-evaluate whether the outbreak of monkeypox would constitute a public health emergency of international concern.
It comes as cases of the virus have been spreading globally in recent weeks.
Despite the WHO’s Emergency Committee agreeing that the outbreak did not warrant such a declaration at the end of June, they now want to reassess cases of the virus, using the latest data and reports.
At the weekly WHO media briefing on Wednesday, Director-General of the organisation Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the committee would hold more meetings on the subject on the week of July 18, if not sooner.
“My teams are following the data closely, I plan to reconvene the Emergency Committee so they are updated on the current epidemiology and evolution of the outbreak, and implementation of counter measures,” he told the briefing.
He expressed concerns about the spread and the scale of the virus, which has now been recorded in 58 countries with over 6,000 cases recorded. The true scale of the cases is unknown, as testing “remains a challenge”.
Tedros said: “Europe is the current epicentre of the outbreak, recording more than 80 percent of cases globally.
“In Africa, cases are appearing in countries not previously affected and record numbers are being recorded in places which have previous experience with monkeypox.”
The WHO is working to improve the distribution of vaccines, “which are currently scarce”.
Tedros also said that the organisation was working with the LGBTIQ+ community, “to break the stigma around the virus and spread information so people can protect themselves”.
He said: “I want to particularly commend those that are sharing videos online via social media channels talking about their symptoms and experiences with monkeypox.
“This is a positive way to break down the stigma about a virus that can affect anyone.”
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