The World Health Organization’s top monkeypox expert does not expect the hundreds of cases reported so far to turn into another pandemic, but acknowledges that there are still many unknowns about the disease.
These include exactly how it is spreading and whether the suspension of mass smallpox immunization decades ago may be accelerating its transmission in any way.
At a public hearing on Monday, Dr Rosamund Lewis of the WHO said it was unknown if the monkey’s smallpox was being transmitted by sex or only through close contact between people involved in sexual activities and described the threat to the general population as “low.”
Dr. Rosamund Lewis, director of the World Health Organization’s smallpox secretariat, spoke at a press conference in Geneva last week. (UN Web TV)
But he said it was crucial to emphasize that the vast majority of cases seen in dozens of countries around the world were in men who have sex with men, so scientists can study the problem further and care for those at risk. .
“It’s very important to describe this because it seems to be an increase in a mode of transmission that may have been little recognized in the past,” said Lewis, WHO’s chief technical officer on smallpox.
“At the moment, we are not worried about a global pandemic,” he said.
“We are concerned that people may acquire this infection through high-risk exposure if they do not have the information they need to protect themselves.”
He warned that anyone is at potential risk for the disease, regardless of sexual orientation.
The primary inoculation lesion for monkeypox infection. (Supplied)
Other experts have noted that it may be accidental that the disease was first detected in gay and bisexual men, saying it could spread quickly to other groups if left unchecked.
Smallpox is known to spread when there is close physical contact with an infected person or their clothing or sheets.
So far, the WHO said 23 countries that had not previously had monkeypox have now reported more than 250 cases.
Lewis warned that among the current cases, there was a higher proportion of people with fewer injuries who are more concentrated in the genital area and sometimes almost impossible to see.
“You may have these lesions for two to four weeks (and) they may not be visible to others, but it can still be infectious,” he said.
This electron microscopic image represented a smallpox monkey virus, obtained from a clinical sample associated with the 2003 prairie dog outbreak. (Photo: Cynthia S Goldsmith) (AP)
This marks a significant deviation from the typical pattern of the spread of the disease in Central and West Africa, where people are mainly infected by animals such as rodents and wild primates, and epidemics have not crossed borders.
Scientists have not yet determined whether the smallpox outbreak in rich countries can be traced back to Africa, but the disease continues to make people on the continent sick.
On Monday, Nigerian authorities confirmed his first death from monkeypox this year, in addition to six other cases. The WHO said thousands of cases were reported in Nigeria and the Congo each year.
Most patients with monkeypox only experience fever, body aches, chills, and fatigue.
People with more serious illnesses can develop rashes and injuries to the face and hands that can spread to other parts of the body. No deaths have been reported in the current outbreak beyond Africa.
Smallpox is traditionally found only in Africa or in people who have recently returned from the mainland. (AP)
Lewis, of the WHO, also said that while previous cases of monkeypox in Central and West Africa have been relatively limited, it was unclear whether people could spread monkeypox without symptoms or whether disease could be transmitted through the air, such as measles or COVID-19.
Smallpox is related to smallpox, vaccines for which it also protects against smallpox, but has milder symptoms.
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After smallpox was declared eradicated in 1980, countries suspended their mass immunization programs, a measure that some experts believe could help spread smallpox, as there is now little widespread immunity to disease. related.
Lewis said it would be “unfortunate” for smallpox to be able to “exploit the breach of immunity” left by smallpox 40 years ago, and said there was still a window of opportunity to close the outbreak because smallpox not to be dragged into new regions.