As monkeypox global cases surpass 6,000, the World Health Organization will reassess whether the outbreak constitutes a public health emergency of international concern.
The agency's emergency committee on June 25 ruled that the outbreak did not warrant such a designation.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, PhD, said he will have the committee revisit the decision the week of July 18. The committee could be convened sooner, if necessary, he said during a July 6 media briefing.
"I continue to be concerned by the scale and spread of the virus. Across the world, there has now been more than 6,000 cases recorded in 58 countries," Dr. Tedros said. Europe is currently the epicenter of the outbreak, accounting for 80 percent of cases globally, he said.
"Testing remains a challenge, and it's highly probable that there are a significant number of cases not being picked up," Dr. Tedros said.
There had been more than 3,000 global monkeypox cases in late June when the WHO's emergency committee first met on the matter. The U.S. had reported 605 cases as of July 6, up from 351 June 29.
Two more updates:
1. Testing: The CDC on July 6 said Labcorp, one of the nation's largest commercial labs, has begun monkeypox testing at its largest laboratory in the U.S. Eventually, Labcorp will have capacity to perform 10,000 tests per week, which would double the currency capacity of CDC's lab network. The agency expects additional commercial labs to begin testing for monkeypox throughout the month.
"The ability of commercial labs to test for monkeypox is a key pillar in our comprehensive strategy to combat this disease," said CDC Director Rochelle Walensky, MD. "This will not only increase testing capacity but will make it more convenient for providers and patients to access tests by using existing provider-to-lab relationships."
2. Vaccines: One of Bavarian Nordic's plants that has been under construction since last August isn't expected to be in operation until the end of this summer. The manufacturer supplies the Jynneos monkeypox vaccine, and experts are worried the setback could strain supply. The U.S. has 56,000 Jynneos doses immediately available, and 296,000 more are expected to be ready in the next few weeks. More than 41,000 courses of the two-dose vaccine have been distributed to states and other jurisdictions, according to HHS data updated July 6.