WHO calls emergency meeting as monkeypox cases top 100 in Europe

Head of the Institute of Microbiology of the German Armed Forces Roman Woelfel works in his laboratory in Munich, on May 20, 2022, after Germany has detected its first case of monkeypox. [Reuters]

The World Health Organization was holding an emergency meeting on Friday to discuss the recent outbreak of monkeypox, a viral infection more common in the west and central Africa, after over 100 cases were confirmed or suspected in Europe.

In what Germany described as the largest outbreak in Europe ever, cases have been reported in at least nine countries – Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom - as well as the United States, Canada and Australia.