A new, more deadly and easily spread strain of the Clade 1b virus has spread in Africa.
The World Health Organization (WHO) will convene an emergency committee meeting next week to determine whether monkeypox remains a public health emergency of international concern. The WHO said this in a statement on Monday, TASR reports based on a Reuters report.
In August, the WHO issued a warning of the highest level in connection with the spread of the viral disease in Africa. This happened after a new, more deadly and easier-to-spread strain of the Clade 1b virus spread in some areas of the continent.
Almost 47,000 cases of the disease have been confirmed in Africa
The WHO said in its report on Monday that in Africa the authorities had confirmed almost 4,000 cases of the disease, or suspected cases of the disease, including 1,081 deaths, until November 3. According to the WHO, the most affected country is the Democratic Republic of the Congo, followed by Burundi and Uganda.
Monkey pox is transmitted by close contact. The disease usually has a mild course, in rare cases it is fatal. It causes flu-like symptoms including rash, fever, chills, swollen lymph nodes, exhaustion, muscle, back and headache pain, as well as respiratory symptoms and purulent lesions on the body. The first doses of the vaccine were distributed this month to the nine hardest-hit African countries.
