The World Health Organization has announced that it will hold an emergency meeting with external experts next Thursday, June 23, to assess whether the monkeypox epidemic represents a public health emergency of international concern, the alarm higher than the WHO can issue. Currently, this designation only applies to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and polio.
The number of confirmed and suspected monkeypox infections continues to grow day by day in non-endemic countries around the world despite the lack of travel links and connections with groups known to have been exported from Africa. . Many public health experts have been pushing the World Health Organization (WHO) to respond more urgently.
At a press conference on Tuesday, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus acknowledged that the virus had behaved unpredictably and said that as the number of affected countries grew rapidly, coordination was needed. to deal with the epidemic. “I think it’s clear now that there’s an unusual situation,” he said.
The number of accumulated cases, including confirmed and suspected cases, reached almost 1,800 on June 14, 2022. The average of seven days of new cases (more than 80) has been steadily increasing since the first case was detected. in England on 6 May. 2022, in a British citizen returning from Nigeria, where the virus is endemic.
The map shows the distribution of new cases of monkeypox outside the area where the virus is endemic. The red countries have the largest shoots, while the orange ones have a smaller number, and the light tan ones the least.
According to a smallpox data display created by Antonio Caramia, there were 1,688 confirmed cases and 99 suspicious ones. The following 50 countries and territories have confirmed or suspected cases: Argentina, Australia, Austria, Bahamas, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Cayman Islands, Czech Republic, Denmark, England, Finland, France, French Guiana, Germany, Ghana, Gibraltar, Greece , Haiti, Hungary, Iceland, Iran, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Kosovo, Latvia, Malta, Mexico, Morocco, Netherlands, Northern Ireland, Norway, Pakistan, Paraguay, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Scotland, Slovenia, Spain, Sudan, Sweden, Switzerland, Uganda, United Arab Emirates, United States, Uruguay, Venezuela and Wales.
England leads the world with the highest number of confirmed cases, with 452. Spain ranks second with 313 confirmed cases and 32 suspicious cases. Portugal is third with 209. Germany has 188 confirmed and one suspect. Canada has 123 confirmed and 24 suspected, France 91 confirmed and the United States ranks seventh with 65.
In addition, monkeypox is endemic to ten countries in West and Central Africa: Cameroon, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Gabon, Ghana (only identified in animals), Ivory Coast, Liberia, Nigeria , Republic of the Congo and Sierra Leone.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), since January 2022, there have been 59 confirmed cases and 1,536 suspected cases, with 72 fatalities, in the WHO African region. Of the 1,366 monkeypox infections in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, 64 were fatal. In this country, the deadliest clade in the Congo Basin is dominant, while the least virulent West African clade is currently causing the global outbreak. The West African clade mortality rate has been reported to be one percent.
Daily average, cumulative and seven-day global monkey infections.
Although the WHO has not officially recognized any deaths from the current epidemic, there is a recent report from Brazil on the possible death related to the smallpox of a 41-year-old man who was admitted to Uberlandia Medical Center. a private hospital in Minas. State of Gerais. The cause of death is currently being investigated. According to local news, the infection could have been aggravated by other diseases.
Director-General Ghebreyesus also announced that an expert working group would propose renaming the monkey smallpox in light of concerns about stigma and racism surrounding the virus that is causing the global epidemic. He said the WHO “is working with partners and experts around the world to change the name of the monkeypox virus, its clades and the disease it causes.”
The announcement comes after a statement to the United Nations health agency of more than 30 international scientists, declaring the “urgent need for a non-discriminatory and non-stigmatizing nomenclature for the monkeypox virus.”
They wrote: “As of June 8, 2022, at least 1,111 human cases of MPXV [monkeypox virus] have been confirmed or suspected, and cases have been detected in 44 countries. MPXV infection is usually caused by events that spread to humans from animals such as rodents, squirrels, and nonhuman primates. The virus can also be transmitted from one person to another through close contact with injuries, body fluids, respiratory drops, and contaminated materials. The case count and epidemiological patterns suggest that the current global outbreak is sustained by human-to-human transmission. “
The authors added:
The predominant perception in the international media and scientific literature is that MPXV is endemic to people in some African countries. However, it is well established that almost all outbreaks of MPXV in Africa before the 2022 outbreak have been the result of an overflow from animals to humans, and there have been few reports of sustained transmission of man to human. In the context of the current global outbreak, the reference and ongoing nomenclature of this African virus are not only inaccurate but also discriminatory and stigmatizing. The most obvious manifestation of this is the use of photos of African patients to represent smallpox injuries in the mainstream media of the global north. Recently, the African Foreign Press Association issued an instant statement to the world media to stop using images of African people to highlight the outbreak in Europe.
Although the origin of the new global outbreak of MPXV is still unknown, there is growing evidence that the most likely scenario is that cryptic and intercontinental human transmission has been going on for longer than previously thought. However, there is a growing narrative in the media and among many scientists trying to link the current global outbreak with Africa or West Africa, or Nigeria. In addition, the use of geographic labels for MPXV strains specifically refers to the 2022 outbreak as belonging to the “West Africa” or “West Africa” clade, strain, or genotype. We therefore believe that a nomenclature that is neutral, non-discriminatory and non-stigmatizing will be more appropriate for the global healthcare community.
The authors are right to suggest that as the epidemic continues to grow, so has former President Trump made derogatory and inflammatory references to the virus that causes COVID by calling it the “China virus” and the “Kung flu.” , the association of geographical names. for diseases and viruses has the ability to politically arm these terms.
Instead, the collaborative working group has proposed a new classification based on the detection order: “MPXV clades 1, 2 and 3”. Clade 1 would correspond to the clade of the Congo Basin. Instead, Clades 2 and 3 would correspond to the West African clade. They wrote, “These three clades represent a profound MPXV diversity, accumulated over many years of evolution in the animal repository. Additional MPXV sequencing of the animal repository may reveal more clades 4, 5, 6, and so on.”
In addition, they have recommended that viruses that have been sequenced from samples obtained between 2017 and 2019 from the UK, Israel, Nigeria, the US and Singapore, as well as the global outbreak in 2022, be given a new name. “Given that viruses in this clade have been transmitted from person to person in dozens of countries and potentially for several years, we propose that this represent a different route of transmission from previous cases of MPXV in humans and should have to give it a different name because it can be referred to specifically in both scientific discourse and the general media. “
Even the term “monkey smallpox” is an inappropriate name, as the most common animal-to-human cross comes from consuming infected rodents. But the virus was first detected historically in macaques brought to a laboratory in Europe.
Whatever decision the WHO and the emergency committee make in the next week or two, it is clear that even a public health emergency declaration of international interest will see nothing but sensationalism in the media. . Vaccine nationalism is underway as countries plan to stockpile smallpox vaccines for their citizens. (The smallpox vaccine is quite effective against monkeypox, a related disease).
Scientists and public health experts will apply for funding for research, global public surveillance and monitoring of infectious diseases with pandemic potential and emerging threats. But low-income countries, such as Africa, where the monkeypox virus poses a much greater threat, will barely receive media attention, let alone the resources needed to help their medical infrastructure. and public health.
The current global epidemic of monkeypox infections, such as the COVID pandemic, is not fundamentally just a public health crisis but a crisis of capitalism. The benefit system is no more able to mobilize the necessary resources and public health strategy to fight monkeypox than to fight SARS-CoV-2. Instead, it diverts critical funding to the escalation of imperialist wars in Ukraine and elsewhere.
The World Socialist Web Site is the voice of the working class and the leader of the international socialist movement. We fully trust the support of our readers. Please make a donation today!