WHO convenes emergency expert meeting over monkeypox outbreak

The World Health Organization (WHO) will hold an emergency meeting with leading experts to discuss the monkeypox outbreak. This was reported by the British newspaper The Daily Telegraph on Friday.

According to it, at the meeting, in particular, measures to combat the spread of a new disease will be discussed. Michael Ryan, Director of the WHO Emergency Programme, is expected to attend. The publication notes that experts may raise the question of the appropriateness of using smallpox vaccines in the fight against the spread of a new outbreak.

WHO indicates that monkeypox is a rare viral disease that occurs mainly in remote areas in central and western Africa, located near tropical rainforests. According to the organization, the virus is transmitted to humans from wild animals such as rodents and primates, and its secondary spread through human-to-human transmission is limited. Typically, the case fatality rate for monkeypox outbreaks is between 1 and 10%, with the majority of deaths occurring in younger age groups.

Monkeypox cases have previously been reported by authorities in Australia, Canada, the United States and a number of European countries, including the UK. The United Kingdom's Health Safety Agency said the cases are predominantly gay men. There is no specific treatment or vaccine for monkeypox, but prior vaccination against smallpox provides highly effective prevention of the disease.