MOSCOW, August 15. /TASS/. The Russian Federal Service for Surveillance on Consumer Rights Protection and Human Wellbeing has prepared proposals on providing aid and training specialists for African countries affected by mpox, previously known as monkeypox, the agency’s press service told journalists.

"The Russian Federal Service for Surveillance on Consumer Rights Protection and Human Wellbeing has prepared proposals on providing scientific and technical assistance as well as aid in training specialists for African countries affected by the epidemic and for the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention," the agency said in a statement.

Earlier, World Health Organization (WHO) Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus declared mpox a public health emergency of international concern.

Mpox is a rare viral disease which is endemic to remote regions near tropical forests of Central and Western Africa. The first case of the animal-to-human transmission of this disease was recorded in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in 1970. According to the WHO, this virus is usually transmitted to humans by wild animals, such as rodents and primates, while its secondary spread among humans is limited. Usually the lethality coefficient during mpox outbreaks ranges from 1% to 10% with the majority of fatalities in the younger age groups.