Nearly 5,000 cases of monkey pox identified worldwide

The virus has already been detected in about 40 countries where the virus was virtually non-existent until May. According to the US health authority CDC, 3,308 cases have been registered. According to WHO figures, there are another 1,600 infections in eight African countries that have had such outbreaks for years.

The WHO met with experts on Thursday to assess whether there is an “emergency of international concern,” the highest alert level WHO can set. The advice will probably not come on Thursday, but only later this week.

Most cases outside Africa were reported in Europe at 2,746. Almost all infected persons are men. About 44 percent are between the ages of 31 and 40. So far no deaths have been reported.

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