On Friday, US health authorities announced that, for the first time, monkeypox had been detected in children in the United States.
Suspected transmission of infection at home
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in a statement that there is no association between the two infections that were discovered, and it is likely that they are the result of transmission of infection at home. The agency said that the two injured children are in good condition and are being treated.
Monkeypox causes flu-like symptoms and a rash, and has spread widely outside West and Central African countries where the disease is endemic.
The disease is transmitted mainly through close contact.
alert level
In this context, the Director-General of the World Health Organization, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, is expected to announce on Saturday whether or not the organization should launch its highest level of alert in the face of an outbreak of monkeypox.
Ghebreyesus will hold a virtual press conference at 13:00 GMT, Saturday, according to what the organization said in a statement Friday evening.
Reached 72 countries
This comes at a time when more than 15,300 cases of monkeypox have been recorded in 72 countries, according to figures from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as of July 20.
At the first meeting on June 23, the majority of experts recommended that the WHO not declare a health emergency of international concern.