The WHO Emergency Committee on Monkeypox will meet on July 21 to determine the measures to be taken against the current outbreak of the disease which affects more than 10,000 people in several dozen countries, the organization announced on Thursday.
The head of the World Health Organization (WHO), Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, has repeatedly expressed concern about the spread of the disease outside the countries where it is endemic and urged member countries to take measures adequate to limit contamination.
In particular, the Committee will have to decide on the seriousness of the resurgence of cases of monkeypox, and on its qualification as a “public health emergency of international concern”, the highest level of alert of the organization.
It will meet for the second time, while it had ruled out the increase in the alert level at its previous meeting on June 23.
The number of confirmed cases worldwide has since risen sharply to exceed 10,000 in more than 60 countries, with Europe being the most affected region.
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A draft patient profile
According to statistics from the World Health Organization, a first portrait of patients affected by the current outbreak of cases of monkeypox is emerging.
The most common profile is that of a man under the age of 40, living in Europe, having sex with men, with rashes all over his body and fever.
This is only a crude portrait, the profile of which is representative of that of the majority of patients.
99.5% of patients who provided their sex are men, with a median age of 37 years, reveal WHO statistics.
60% of sufferers who have provided information about their sexual orientation - about a third of the total number of people affected - identify as gay, bisexual or other men who have sex with men, according to the report.
