There is urgency in the fight against monkeypox.
The European Medicines Agency (EMA) said on Friday it had approved the use of a vaccine against human smallpox to extend its use against the spread of the so-called monkey one, which could deserve the maximum alert level of the WHO.
"The EMA's Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) has recommended extending the indication of the smallpox vaccine Imvanex to include the protection of adults against monkeypox," the European regulator said in a statement.
The Imvanex vaccine, from Danish company Bavarian Nordic, has been approved in the EU since 2013 for the prevention of smallpox.
It has been approved against monkeypox due to the similarity between this virus and the smallpox virus.
WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said he was "worried" on Thursday about the rise in the number of monkeypox cases as he opened an Emergency Committee meeting, asking expert advice.
He is responsible for possibly declaring a public health emergency of international concern, the highest level of health agency alert, based on the Committee's recommendations.
More than 15,300 cases recorded in 71 countries
The situation has worsened in recent weeks with more than 15,300 cases now recorded in 71 countries, according to the latest figures from the United States health authorities (CDC), the most up-to-date.
At a first meeting on June 23, the majority of experts recommended that Dr. Tedros not declare a public health emergency of international concern.
In France, more than 1,450 cases have been identified, including 678 in Île-de-France.
First detected in humans in 1970, monkeypox is less dangerous and contagious than its cousin smallpox, eradicated in 1980. The disease first manifests as a high fever and quickly progresses to a rash, with the formation of crusts.
Most often benign, it generally heals spontaneously after two to three weeks.