The World Health Organization (WHO) revealed that it would hold an emergency meeting next week to determine whether to classify the global outbreak of monkeypox as a public health emergency of international concern.
“The outbreak of monkeypox is unusual and concerning,” World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Tuesday.
“For that reason I have decided to convene the Emergency Committee under the international health regulations next week, to assess whether this outbreak represents a public health emergency of international concern”.
The emergency committee will meet on June 23 to discuss the designation, which is the highest alarm the United Nations (UN) agency can sound.
“WHO is also working with partners and experts from around the world on changing the name of monkeypox virus… and the disease it causes,” Tedros said.
“We will make announcements about the new names as soon as possible.”
“Although WHO is seeking to verify news reports from Brazil of a monkeypox-related death there,” he added.
To fight the global spread, the WHO aims to recommend “tried-and-tested public health tools including surveillance, contact-tracing and isolation of infected patients”.
