Who considers convening an emergency committee of experts on monkeypox outbreak in Africa

​World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus is considering convening an expert committee to advise on whether the growing monkeypox outbreak in Africa should be declared a public health Emergency of international concern.

Congo has seen a surge in cases of Mpox (formerly Monkeypox) since September due to a strain of the virus found in neighboring African countries.

Speaking on social media platform X on Sunday, Tedros said UN health agencies, the African Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, local governments and partners are scaling up their response to local outbreaks, "but more funding and support is needed for a full response."

"I am considering convening an IHR Emergency Committee to advise on whether the monkeypox outbreak in Africa should be declared a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC)," Tedros said.

A public health emergency of international concern is the WHO's highest level of alert, and Tedros can declare such an event an emergency on the recommendation of a committee of experts in the field.

In a statement to Science, Tedros added: "This virus can and must be controlled through enhanced public health measures, including surveillance, community engagement, treatment and vaccination of those at high risk of infection."

Monkeypox is an infectious disease caused by a virus that is transmitted to humans through infected animals and can also be spread from person to person through close physical contact.

The virus was first detected in humans in Congo in 1970.

Common symptoms of monkeypox are a rash or mucosal lesion that lasts two to four weeks and is accompanied by fever, headache, muscle aches, back pain, low energy and swollen lymph nodes.