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WHO Calls Emergency Meeting On Monkeypox: ‘It’s Now Clear There Is An Unusual Situation’

File image: WHO/ via Twitter

Nine cases of the virus have been confirmed in Ireland.

An emergency meeting of the World Health Organisation is going to decide if the monkeypox outbreak is a 'public health emergency of international concern.'

The meeting will take place on Thursday, June 23, WHO Director General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesu announced at a Tuesday media event.

It's the highest warning level issued by the United Nations.

The W-H-O's Director General Tedros says the virus is behaving unusually and the response needs to be 'stepped up.'

"It's now clear there is an unusual situation, meaning the virus is behaving unusually from how it used to behave in the past,"  said Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesu.

"It's affecting more and more countries, and we believe that it needs some coordinated response because of the geographic spread," he added.

There have been 1,600 confirmed cases across 39 countries.

Nine cases of the virus have been confirmed in Ireland.

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