WHO convenes experts to decide if monkeypox is an emergency

By JAMEY KEATEN
Associated Press

GENEVA (AP) — The World Health Organization will convene its emergency committee to determine if the monkeypox outbreak that has mysteriously spread beyond Africa warrants being declared a global health emergency. WHO’s chief says more than 1,600 cases and nearly 1,500 suspected cases have been reported this year in 39 countries, including seven African nations where monkeypox has been reported for years. A total of 72 monkeypox deaths have occurred in Africa.. No monkeypox deaths have turned up in the newly affected countries, which include Britain, Canada, Italy, Poland, Spain and the United States. WHO’s emergency panel will meet on June 23.