WHO expert meeting to discuss mpox outbreak

The World Health Organization says it will convene an emergency committee as mpox spreads in Central Africa and could spread further within and outside of Africa.

The expert committee will meet on Wednesday to discuss whether the outbreak is a "public health emergency of international concern".

Mpox, formerly called monkeypox, is a viral infection that causes symptoms such as fever and a rash.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus says that the Democratic Republic of Congo has been experiencing a severe outbreak of mpox this year. More than 14,000 cases and 511 deaths have been reported.

He says that cases have been reported in countries neighboring the DRC, including Kenya and Rwanda.

The WHO chief warned that the disease could spread further within and outside Africa.

In 2022 WHO declared a public health emergency of international concern for mpox, following a large number of cases being reported mainly in Western countries.

As the number of cases decreased, WHO ended the declaration in May last year.

WHO says that the current outbreak of mpox is of a different type from the one that was responsible for the outbreak in 2022.

The current type is said to be likely to cause severe symptoms.