Does WHO still consider mpox global health crisis? UN health body to hold emergency meeting to determine status of mpox amid "plateauing" cases in few African regions A test tube labelled "Mpox virus positive" is held in this illustration taken August 20, 2024. — Reuters The World Health Organisation (WHO) on Monday announced that it is set to convene its Emergency Committee on November 22 to assess whether mpox continues to pose a global health crisis. The UN health body classified the disease as a public health emergency of international concern — the highest alert level — in August after the emergence of a new viral variant, known as clade Ib, in various regions of Africa.

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display('div-gpt-ad-1700472799616-0'); }); In a report on Monday, the WHO revealed that there have been 46,794 confirmed and suspected cases in Africa this year through November 3, including 1,081 deaths with the Democratic Republic of Congo being the most affected country, followed by Burundi and Uganda. Although the disease continues to spread in the continent, the WHO also revealed that cases of mpox in Congo, where the new and more infectious variant of the disease was first detected, appear to be "plateauing," MedPage Today reported. According to the report, while the overall number of infections shows a general upward trend, the situation in South Kivu — a hotspot for the virus among sex workers and miners in the gold mining town of Kamituga — see.