The World Health Organization (WHO) has called an emergency meeting to address a significant rise in mpox cases originating from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus announced the meeting amid an outbreak in the DRC, with nearly 27,000 reported cases and about 1,100 deaths, many of them children. The virus strain has spread to neighboring countries, including Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, and Uganda, where mpox had not been previously reported. The WHO’s Emergency Committee will assess if the outbreak qualifies as a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC), the WHO’s highest alert level. The meeting will take place soon, though no specific date has been set. The WHO declared mpox a global emergency in 2022, after it was detected in over 70 countries. While vaccines helped mitigate the threat in wealthy nations, poorer nations found it harder to access, thereby making the disease harder to eradicate.
SOURCE: AL JAZEERA
WHO Convenes Emergency Meeting Amid Rising Mpox Cases from DRC
