Lagatar24 Desk
New Delhi, July 21: In order to determine if the outbreak now qualifies as a global health emergency, the World Health Organization will reconvene its expert monkeypox committee on Thursday.
In light of the roughly 14,000 cases reported from more than 70 countries, the WHO’s emergency committee on the virus will meet a second time to review the evidence of the deteriorating situation.
Since early May, there has been an increase in monkeypox cases outside of the West and Central African nations where the illness has long been endemic.
In order to determine if monkeypox falls under the highest degree of alert, known as a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC), the WHO organised an emergency committee of specialists on June 23.
However, a majority informed Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the head of the WHO, that the situation did not yet meet the required standard. As the number of cases has increased and recently expanded to six more nations, a second meeting will be conducted.
If the committee informs Tedros that the epidemic qualifies as a PHEIC, it will make short-term suggestions on how to improve disease prevention and control, as well as how to coordinate the global public health response.
The date on which the result will be made public, however, remains unknown.
