WHO calls emergency meeting to discuss jump in mpox cases from DRC
Al Jazeera
Nearly 27,000 cases of mpox have been found in the Democratic Republic of Congo, with about 1,100 deaths.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has called an emergency meeting to discuss a jump in mpox cases spreading from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus made the announcement on Wednesday, amid an outbreak that has seen nearly 27,000 cases in the DRC and claimed about 1,100 lives, many of them children.
Since last September, cases have surged in the central African nation due to a strain of the virus that has now been detected in its neighbouring countries.
“In light of the spread of mpox outside DRC, and the potential for further international spread within and outside Africa, I have decided to convene an Emergency Committee under the International Health Regulations to advise me on whether the outbreak represents a public health emergency of international concern,” the WHO chief said in a social media post.
