WHO to convene emergency committee to assess international risk from mpox outbreak

FILE PHOTO: Zawadi Bwira Bakulu, 35, shows the rash marks on her son Christevie Lukeka who recovered from Mpox in Nyiragongo territory near Goma, North Kivu province, Democratic Republic of the Congo July 18, 2024. REUTERS/Arlette Bashizi/File Photo

(Reuters) -The head of the World Health Organization said on Wednesday an emergency committee will be convened to discuss whether the current mpox outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo represents a public health emergency of international concern.

The current mpox outbreak in Congo has already seen around 27,000 cases, and claimed more than 1,100 lives, most of them children, since the beginning of 2023.