WHO to convene second emergency meeting to decide if monkeypox is a global health threat as cases rise to 9,200

Health officer uses a thermal head to detect a monkeypox virus on arriving passengers at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Tangerang near Jakarta, Indonesia on May 15, 2019.

The World Health Organization said Tuesday that it will convene a second emergency meeting next week to decide if monkeypox is a global health threat.

A global emergency in response to monkeypox was not declared by the U.N. The organization's emergency committee is expected to consider issuing its highest-level alert when it convenes next week.

The WHO's director-general said in a virtual press conference that the emergency committee for monkeypox will return next week to look at trends, how effective the countermeasures are, and make recommendations.

According to the WHO, there have been 9,200 cases of monkeypox reported in 63 countries so far this year. There have been three deaths from the disease this year.

Most people recover from monkeypox in two to four weeks, according to the CDC. The virus can cause a rash that can spread. The people who have caught the virus said the rash can be very painful.

In response to the Covid-19 outbreak, the World Health Organization declared a global health emergency in January 2020. The WHO doesn't have an official process for declaring a Pandemic under its emergency regulations. The agency declared Covid a Pandemic in 2020 in order to warn governments about the seriousness of the disease.

Monkeypox is not a newviruses. The first case of a human with monkeypox was confirmed in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in 1970 after scientists discovered the disease in captive monkeys. There is a milder form of monkeypox that is in the same family of Viruses. The World Health Organization and national health agencies have a long history of fighting diseases. Health officials could benefit from the fight against monkeypox.

The current outbreak of monkeypox is not usually found in North America and Europe. Europe is the epicenter of the outbreak, with more than 80% of confirmed infections there in the next four years. More than 760 cases have been reported in the U.S.

Monkeypox has been spread in parts of West and Central Africa where rodents and other animals carry it. It was rare for the virus to jump from animals to humans. The international community did not invest enough in the fight against monkeypox in Africa, according to the World Health Organization.