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LONDON – World Health Organization is weighing whether to declare the smallpox of the monkey as an international emergency, a decision that could come as soon as Friday. A statement it could increase the overall response as cases increase rapidly in Britain despite efforts to contain it. Britain, where nearly 800 virus cases have been reported in the past month, has the highest number of reported infections outside of Central and West Africa, and case trends here are worrying experts across Europe. the epicenter of the bud, which are heavy. the best approach in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic for years.
Monkeypox cases rose nearly 40 per cent in Britain in less than five days, according to data shared by the UK Health Safety Agency. By June 16, 574 cases had been registered, and by June 20, the number had increased to 793.
After Britain, Spain, Germany and Portugal have the most recorded cases. And it is a growing threat outside Europe: more than 3,200 cases have been confirmed in 48 countries in the last six weeks, according to the WHO, which publishes data on monkeypox in weekly intervals. On June 15 he had been reported dead.
The Emergency Committee of the WHO International Health Regulations met on Thursday to discuss whether the smallpox outbreak should be labeled a “Public Health Emergency of International Interest”, which would mobilize new funding and boost governments to act. The new coronavirus, which causes covid-19, was labeled a PHEIC after a similar meeting in January 2020.
According to experts, the response to the smallpox of the United States monkey reflects the first steps in coronavirus error
So far, the response in most European countries has been to focus on disclosing to communities at risk, monitoring contacts and isolating known cases of monkeypox. This may change if the WHO, which first sounded the alarm about monkeypox infections in countries where the virus is not endemic in May, raises the level of outbreak threat.
“The emergency committee and then the [WHO] The CEO’s announcement will raise the political level of this, ”David Heymann, a professor of infectious disease epidemiology at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine who attended the meeting as an adviser, told The Washington Post.
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Smallpox from the monkey is spread through close contact and has so far mainly affected men who have sex with men. It starts with flu-like symptoms before lumps or fluid-filled lesions appear on the skin, which can leave permanent scars. Health officials say the latest outbreak has often caused genital rashes, and while most cases are mild and patients recover within three weeks, the virus can be deadly and is more dangerous for people who are pregnant or with weakened immune system.
To contain the outbreak, a broader understanding of its origins is essential, along with vaccination of at-risk groups and tracking of contacts, experts say, though they note that some patients may not want to divulge information about who they have had. intimacy, which can complicate things. the public health response.
“One of the difficulties people have in implementing control is getting a complete list of people’s sexual contacts,” said Paul Hunter, a professor of medicine at the University of East Anglia. “This is exactly the problem we faced when we faced HIV / AIDS in the beginning [1990s]. ”
And, as in the early days of the coronavirus outbreak, it is unclear whether cases in some countries are not detected. Some experts speculate that Britain may have a higher number because its extensive public health surveillance network allows it to identify more infections.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus acknowledged at the start of Thursday’s meeting that the monkey’s smallpox is likely to be more widespread than official figures indicate. “Person-to-person transmission is ongoing and is likely to be underestimated,” he told emergency committee members.
The UK has been proactively monitoring people with known cases of smallpox and in some cases has distributed smallpox vaccines, which are known to protect against smallpox infection, to their close contacts and at-risk groups. In theory, this approach, which Hunter described as “ring vaccination,” “should have worked,” he said.
But as infections have increased and authorities have struggled to “track contacts from cases well in advance to make an impact,” Hunter said he has had “less confidence.”
“Unless we make a corner very early on in this, I think we’ll probably have to start thinking about what the next one will be,” he added.
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British health officials said on Tuesday that some gay and bisexual men, who are believed to be at increased risk of exposure, will be offered vaccines to help curb the monkey’s smallpox outbreak. The UK Health Security Agency stressed that while the virus is more of a threat “to the sexual networks of gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men”, anyone can get the disease through close contact with an infected person.
Scientists are studying this outbreak and will know more once the virus is sequenced. “We are beginning to understand how widespread [monkeypox] it really is, “Heymann said.” We know it’s widespread in certain populations and we need to know if it’s spreading to other populations as well. “
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Two years after treating Germany’s first coronavirus patient, Clemens Wendtner treated Germany’s first smallpox patient in May. The man, who has not been identified, was a sex worker from Brazil, said Wendtner, chief infectious disease doctor at Schwabing Clinic in Munich.
A good handful more of monkeypox patients have been treated in his ward over the past few weeks, Wendtner said. Some have reported “very painful” rectal injuries, for which painkillers are given intravenously to help with the discomfort. Wendtner and colleagues have been closely recording their findings in the midst of this outbreak, recently documenting their discovery of monkeypox virus DNA in both semen and blood.
Most patients were discharged after a day or so and were advised to be isolated for 21 days at home, in accordance with German infectious disease law. Most cases have been reported in Berlin, one of the most popular spots in Europe, which will host Pride events next month.
“The summer season is holiday season,” he warned, adding that there are likely to be more cases next week and that the current outbreak may not yet have reached its peak.
While men are much more at risk, Wendtner warned that sex workers could also be in danger. “The risk factor is an unprotected sex pattern,” she explained.
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Outside of Europe, other countries are also struggling with new cases.
On May 17, the first case of monkeypox in the United States was detected. More than 100 cases have been added in the past five weeks, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. California, New York and Illinois are listed as the states with the highest level of infection.
Some U.S. experts are calling on the White House to implement comprehensive testing to prevent the failures of the coronavirus pandemic.
Singapore on Tuesday confirmed a case of monkeypox in a British man, the first in Southeast Asia. South Korea also confirmed on Wednesday its first case of monkeypox. The patient is a South Korean national who entered the country from Germany, health officials said. On Thursday, South Africa also announced its first case of monkeypox, Reuters reported. According to health experts, the 30-year-old has no travel history, meaning his illness would not have contracted outside of South Africa.
It is important to remember, experts say, that this is not a new disease. Monkeypox has been circulating in Africa for decades, making some point to a double standard in response to the outbreak in Europe.
“This is a disease that has been neglected,” Heymann said. After the eradication of smallpox in 1980, the world stopped administering smallpox vaccines on a regular basis. Monkeypox, which is less contagious than smallpox, continued to spread to West and Central Africa, but outbreaks were not thoroughly investigated due to lack of resources, he added.
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WHO’s Tedros said Thursday that nearly 1,500 suspected cases of smallpox and about 70 deaths have been reported in central Africa this year. “While the epidemiology and viral clade in these cases may be different, it is a situation that cannot be ignored,” he warned.