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A nurse in Spain prepares a PCR test to detect the monkeypox virus
Photo: Carlos Luján / dpa
More than 6000 monkeypox cases in 58 countries have been confirmed so far - in view of this spread, the World Health Organization (WHO) is calling its experts again.
WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus announced that the relevant emergency committee would meet “in the week of July 18 or earlier”.
This committee is responsible for deciding whether to declare a global health emergency.
Monkeypox has long been endemic in some West and Central African countries.
Since May, however, the disease has also appeared in many other countries.
Europe is currently the "epicenter" of this outbreak, Tedros said.
More than 80 percent of all cases would be registered there.
At its last meeting in late June, the committee decided that the current outbreak did not yet constitute a public health emergency.
"I remain concerned about the extent and spread of the virus around the world," Tedros said.
Due to a lack of testing, there would probably be many more cases that would not be reported.
It must now be discussed again.
Monkeypox is a viral infection, usually mild, that causes flu-like symptoms and skin lesions.
Read the report of an affected person here.
kko/AFP/Reuters