Bengaluru (ANTARA) – More than 3,200 confirmed cases of monkeypox and one death were reported to the World Health Organization (WHO) as part of the current outbreak.
According to WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, intensive surveillance is needed among the wider community, while cases in non-endemic countries are still dominated by men who have same-sex sex.
“Person-to-person transmission is ongoing and is likely to be underestimated,” Tedros said at a meeting of the International Health Regulations Emergency Committee (2005), Thursday (23/6).
The meeting of experts was convened by the WHO to decide whether to declare monkeypox a global health emergency.
A “public health emergency of international concern” is the highest level of alert at WHO.
A total of 48 countries have reported cases of monkeypox since May in the current outbreak.
There have been nearly 1,500 suspected cases of monkeypox this year in Central Africa and 70 deaths, Tedros said.
Tedros called on member states to share information about the virus as it would assist WHO in supporting efforts to stem the transmission.
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