WHO declares monkeypox outbreak a global health emergency

Around 65 countries in which monkeypox is not endemic have reported outbreaks of the viral disease as confirmed cases cross 15,600.

The rapidly spreading monkeypox outbreak represents a global health emergency, the World Health Organization's highest level of alert, WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Saturday.

The illness, which spreads through close contact and was first found in monkeys, mostly occurs in west and central Africa and only occasionally spreads elsewhere.