On November 22, the World Health Organization will convene an Emergency Committee meeting to determine whether monkeypox remains a global health crisis, it said in a statement.
In August, the disease, which continues to spread in Africa, was classified by the Agency as an emergency of international public health concern, representing the highest level of alert. This followed the spread of a new Clade Ib variant in some parts of the continent.
Vaccines in 9 African countries
As of Nov. 3, there were 46,794 confirmed and suspected cases in Africa, including 1,081 deaths, the WHO said in a report today.
The worst affected country is the Democratic Republic of Congo, followed by Burundi and Uganda.
Monkey pox can be spread through close contact. It is usually mild, but can be fatal in rare cases. It causes flu-like symptoms and pus-filled sores on the body. Initial doses of vaccines were made available this month for the 9 worst-hit African countries.
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