WHO holds meeting on monkeypox: Top 5 developments

Viral infection monkeypox has been declared a pandemic by global coalition World Health Network. The disease has so far been detected in 48 countries.

Here are the five latest developments related to the disease:

1. A committee of experts from the World Health Organization held a meeting on June 23 to discuss whether monkeypox is a global health emergency. The outcome of the meeting is expected to be announced today. The global health agency’s chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said at the meeting that there were over 3,200 confirmed cases worldwide, news agency AFP report.
2. South Africa reported its first monkeypox case on June 23. The patient is a 30-year-old man with no recent travel history.
3. In France, the number of monkepox cases have risen to 277 from the 183 infections confirmed just five days ago. Most of France’s monkeypox cases have been detected in the capital city Paris though there are smaller outbreaks in other parts of the country.
4. Monkeypox cases have been detected more among gay and bisexual men. Considering this, the United Kingdom will soon start vaccinating some of them. “Although anyone can contract monkeypox, data from the latest outbreak shows higher levels of transmission within – but not exclusive to – the sexual networks of gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men,” the UK government said.
5. Presently, only a Danish company, Bavarian Nordic, is making licensed monkeypox vaccines, AFP reported. The company said it has a “couple of million” doses to meet global demand.

Moneycontrol