The World Health Organization (WHO) said that the total number of confirmed cases of monkeypox has increased to 1,600 globally and that it has called an emergency meeting to assess if the “unusual” and “concerning” outbreak is an international health emergency. While addressing a media briefing in Geneva, WHO Chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus informed that so far this year, more than 1,600 confirmed cases and almost 1,500 suspected cases of monkeypox disease have been reported to WHO from 39 countries ā including seven countries where monkeypox has been detected for years, and 32 newly-affected countries.
He added that 72 deaths linked to the monkeypox virus have been so far reported from previously-affected countries in 2022. No deaths, however, have been recorded to date from the newly-affected countries, “although WHO is seeking to verify news reports from Brazil of a monkeypox-related death there”, Tedros said.