The World Health Organization says it has removed the distinction between endemic and non-endemic countries in its data to better integrate the response to the virus.
Until the last few months, monkeypox was usually confined to western and central Africa, but it is now present in many continents.
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“We are bridging the distinction between endemic and non-endemic countries, reporting on those countries where possible, where necessary,” the WHO said in its outbreak status update on June 17.
It said that between January 1 and June 15, 2,103 cases have been confirmed in 42 countries, with one probable case and one death reported to the WHO.
The Geneva-based UN health agency is scheduled to hold an emergency meeting on June 23 to determine whether to classify the global monkeypox outbreak as a public health emergency of international concern.
The designation is the highest alarm a UN agency can sound.
The majority – 84 percent – of confirmed cases are from the European region, followed by the Americas, Africa, the eastern Mediterranean region and the western Pacific.
The WHO believes that the actual number of cases is likely to be higher.
Common early symptoms of monkeypox include high fever, swollen lymph nodes, and a blistering chickenpox-like rash.
However, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention states that current cases do not always cause flu-like symptoms, and rashes are sometimes limited to certain areas.
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