Enlarge / A negative spot electron micrograph of a monkeypox virus virus in human vesicular fluid.
The multinational smallpox outbreak continues to pose a low risk to the general public and, for now, it seems unlikely that the cases will turn into a global pandemic, according to the World Health Organization and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. of US Diseases.
But experts are concerned that the virus could continue to spread and that transmission could escape containment without an urgent and comprehensive public health response.
The number of outbreaks continues to rise rapidly, with hundreds of cases reported in at least 23 countries. In an update released on Sunday, May 29, the WHO reported 257 confirmed cases and about 120 suspected cases from 23 countries. These figures are already very obsolete. As of Monday, Our World in Data reported 555 confirmed cases worldwide. The United Kingdom reported 190 cases on Tuesday, compared to 106 reported by the WHO on Sunday. Similarly, the U.S. total has risen to 15 cases, from 10 reported last week.
At a news conference last Thursday, CDC director Rochelle Walensky said the agency assumes there is some spread of the virus in the community in the U.S.
However, in a public presentation that guided doctors last week, Agam Rao, a CDC infectious disease specialist and poxvirus expert, noted that the monkeypox virus is not easily transmitted. The virus is related to smallpox, but causes a relatively mild disease with a revealing rash and is usually accompanied by flu-like symptoms. Transmission requires close and prolonged contact, with the highest risk of spreading to health care workers and the relatives and sexual partners of infected people. “The monkeypox virus has no potential to be a pandemic,” Rao said succinctly.
Announcements
So far, many of the cases appear to be in men who have sex with men (MSM) and the virus appears to be spreading through sexual networks. But health officials are cautious about avoiding stimulating stigma or a false sense of security. The virus can be spread to anyone, and is not a sexually transmitted infection specifically.
Moderate risk and continued spread
In its risk assessment on Sunday, the WHO said that “the risk to the general public appears to be low” and that the “global risk to global public health is assessed as moderate”. widespread cases are grouped in countries outside West and Central Africa, where the virus is endemic in animals.
“The risk to public health could be high if the virus takes the opportunity to establish itself as a human pathogen and spread to groups most at risk for serious diseases, such as young children and immunosuppressed people. said the WHO.
At a public webinar on Monday, Rosamund Lewis, WHO’s technical director for smallpox, explained this assessment and said: “At the moment, we are not concerned about a global pandemic … We are concerned that people they can get this infection through high-risk exposure if they don’t have the information they need to protect themselves, “he added. “And we’re concerned that because the world’s population isn’t immune to orthopoxviruses since the end of smallpox eradication, the virus could try to blow up a niche and spread more easily among people.”
Health officials are now struggling to raise awareness and intensify outreach programs ahead of the Pride Month celebrations in June. The spread of the virus has already been linked to major events and celebrations in Europe as pandemic restrictions eased, Hans Henri Kluge, WHO’s regional director for Europe for Europe, said in a statement on Tuesday. The virus is suspected to have been circulating unrecognized for weeks or more. Upcoming festivals and big parties could offer more opportunities for the outbreak to amplify.
“We still don’t know if we will be able to contain its spread completely,” Kluge said. “Therefore, we need a significant and urgent reduction of exposures through clear communication, community-led actions, isolation of cases during the infectious period, and effective follow-up and follow-up of contacts.”