Reuters, quoting sources. The committee met on Thursday to moot the issue. WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, who is responsible for making the final decision, has always gone with the committee's recommendation in the past.
However, despite the lack of a majority opinion, he is seriously considering declaring the agency's highest level of alert for Monkeypox due to his concern about the urgency of the situation.
Tedros will address a virtual press conference at 1300 GMT on Saturday to announce his decision. The label - a "public health emergency of international concern" - currently only applies to the coronavirus pandemic and ongoing efforts to eradicate polio. Need for WHO call In recent weeks, pressure has been increasing from scientists and public health experts for the WHO and national governments to take more action on Monkeypox.
There have now been more than 14,000 cases reported, and five deaths, from 71 WHO member states. When the committee first met at the end of June, there were only about 3,000 cases.