The World Health Organization says it will convene an emergency committee next week to assess whether the monkeypox outbreak represents a public health emergency of international concern.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus announced the decision at a news conference on Tuesday.

He said more than 1,600 confirmed cases of monkeypox have been reported to the WHO from 39 countries. The disease is spreading in Western nations although it was rarely found outside Africa before.

Tedros said it is clear the virus is behaving unusually from how it used to behave in the past. He added that the virus is affecting more and more countries, and that some coordinated response is necessary.

The emergency committee meeting will take place on June 23, with experts from a number of countries invited.

The WHO declared a public health emergency of international concern in the past for the outbreaks of the Ebola and polio, and more recently for the coronavirus in January 2020.