The World Health Organization will convene an emergency meeting in response to an increase in the number of monkeypox cases

*Paromita Das
According to media reports, the World Health Organization will hold an emergency meeting on Friday as several countries around the world report cases of monkeypox. The recent outbreak of monkeypox will be discussed at the meeting.

The disease is caused by a viral infection that is prevalent in West and Central Africa. In Europe, over 100 cases appear to have been confirmed or suspected.

Cases of this disease have been reported in nine European countries, including Germany, Belgium, Portugal, Spain, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. Along with these, similar cases have been reported in the United States, Canada, and Australia.
Close contact spreads the disease, which was first discovered in monkeys.

The World Health Organization’s (WHO) Strategic and Technical Advisory Group on Infectious Hazards with Pandemic and Epidemic Potential (STAG-IH) will meet to discuss the issue.

Meanwhile, India’s Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya has directed the National Center for Disease Control and the ICMR to keep a close eye on the situation, according to official sources.

Health officers at the airport and port have been told to be extra cautious, they said.

According to an official source, “they have been instructed that any sick passenger with a travel history to Monkeypox-affected countries be isolated and samples sent to the BSL4 facility of the National Institute of Virology in Pune for an investigation.”