Image of monkeypox virus under an electron microscope. (Illustration photo: AFP/VNA)

WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that given the spread outside the DR Congo, "and the potential for further international spread", he had decided to convene an emergency committee.

Mpox is currently spreading in the Democratic Republic of Congo and cases have also appeared outside the country.

Statistics show that since the outbreak in early 2023, the Democratic Republic of Congo has had up to 27,000 infections, of which more than 1,100 have died, most of them children.