The World Health Organization will convene its experts to determine if the monkeypox outbreak is a public health emergency.
More than 6,000 cases of monkeypox have been confirmed in 58 countries, according to the UN health agency's director-general.
There has been a rise in monkeypox infections outside of the West and Central African countries.
Tedros said at the press conference that he was concerned by the spread of the virus.
There are a lot of cases that are not being picked up because of the testing challenge.
The WHO convened an emergency committee of experts to determine if monkeypox is a public health emergency of international concern.
The situation hadn't yet crossed that threshold, according to a majority.
"Testing remains a challenge and it's highly probable that there are a significant number of cases not being picked up. Europe is the current epicentre of the outbreak, recording more than 80 percent of #monkeypox cases globally"-@DrTedros https://t.co/PTYI6Eu3FG
— World Health Organization (WHO) (@WHO) July 6, 2022
Teams are following the data. Tedros said that he plans to convene the emergency committee to update them on the current epidemiology and evolution of the monkeypox outbreak.
They will be brought together in the week of July 18.
Jean-Marie Okwo-Bele is a former director of the WHO's Vaccines and Immunisation Department and is the chair of the emergency committee.
The sluggish global response to the alarm bell still rankles at the WHO, despite the fact that there have been sixPHEIC declarations since 2009.
The emergency committee met three times in January of that year to make a decision on aPHEIC. Many countries woke up to the danger after Tedros described the situation as a Pandemic.
Europe has recorded more than 80% of the monkeypox cases this year, according to Tedros.
In Africa, cases are appearing in countries not previously affected and record numbers are being recorded in places which have experience with monkeypox.
The WHO says that most monkeypox infections have been seen in men who have sex with men.
The normal initial symptoms of monkeypox include a high temperature, swollen lymph nodes, and blisters on the skin.
Initial outbreak cases had no links to areas that have historically reported monkeypox, suggesting that undetected transmission may have been going on for some time.
People are sharing videos on social media about their experiences with monkeypox.
He said that it was a positive way to break down the stigma about the disease.
The WHO's current plan is to raise awareness among affected population groups and encourage safe behaviors.
Tedros stated that WHO is working with countries and vaccine manufacturers to coordinate the sharing of vaccine, which are currently scarce and need to be accessible to the most at risk people.
Agence France- Presse.
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