The World Health Organization said, in a statement on Monday, that it will hold a meeting of its emergency committee next week to determine whether monkeypox still constitutes a global health crisis.
In August, the organization classified the disease, which is still spreading in Africa, as a public health emergency of international concern, which represents the highest level of alert. This came after the outbreak of a new sub-strain of the virus called IB in areas of the continent.
The organization stated, in a report issued today, Monday, that the number of confirmed and suspected cases of infection in Africa reached 46,794 cases as of November 3 this year, of which 1,081 died.
She added that the Democratic Republic of the Congo is the most affected country, followed by Burundi and Uganda.
Monkeypox is spread through close contact, and is usually mild, but it leads to death in rare cases, and causes flu-like symptoms and pus-filled sores.
Initial doses of the vaccine were allocated this month to 9 of the most affected African countries.