As cases of monkeypox spread around the world, with the medical community still struggling with the cause of the spike, it may worry some and evoke memories of the early days of COVID-19.
But health experts say monkeypox is unlikely to have a similar effect on the coronavirus and cause a global pandemic, mainly because it is not a new virus and does not spread in the same way as COVID-19.
So far, there have been 26 confirmed cases of monkeypox in Canada, 25 in Quebec and one in Ontario.
Outbreaks appear to be exacerbated in Europe and Australia, along with the United States. The Czech Republic and Slovenia recently announced their first cases, prompting 18 countries to detect the virus outside West and Central Africa.
“With the expansion of surveillance, we expect more cases to be observed. But we need to put this in context, because it’s not COVID, “said Dr. Maria Van Kerkhove, technical director of the World Health Organization on COVID-19, in online questions and answers live on Monday.
CTVNews.ca breaks down the origins of the monkeypox virus and how its significance is likely to differ from COVID-19:
Monkeypox is not a new virus and we already know how it spreads
Monkeypox was discovered in 1958; it is a rare disease caused by a virus that belongs to the same family as the one that causes smallpox.
The disease was initially found in colonies of monkeys used for research. The first human case was discovered only in 1970 in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, two years after smallpox was eliminated in the region.
Monkeypox “is not easily spread among humans” but can be transmitted through large droplets or direct contact with skin lesions, body fluids or contaminated materials such as clothing, family doctor Dr Rhonda Lowe told CTV Morning Live on Wednesday.
Large respiratory droplets do not usually travel far and require prolonged close contact to transmit the disease.
COVID-19 is much easier to spread. No skin-to-skin contact is required for it to spread and can be transmitted at a “conventional distance”, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
The virus can spread during conversations with an infected person and if an infected person shares a room with you. The virus spreads most quickly in poorly ventilated areas.
A distinctive symptom of monkeypox is the rash, which usually begins on the face and then spreads to the limbs or other parts of the body.
“People only seem to be contagious when they have these skin lesions,” Lowe said. “The risk to the general public is low, but we want to know if it exists.”
Experts believe that the current epidemic of monkeypox is spreading through close, intimate skin-to-skin contact with someone who has an active rash. This should make it easier to limit its spread once infections are identified, experts said.
“It’s not a situation where if you walk past someone in a grocery store, they’ll be at risk for monkeypox,” said Dr. Jennifer McQueston of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention at a briefing on Monday.
There is currently a vaccine that can protect against monkeypox
The Orthopox family of viruses includes monkeypox and smallpox. Smallpox, which killed millions of people each year, was eliminated in 1980 thanks to successful global vaccination efforts. Routine smallpox immunization for the general population ended in Canada and the United States in 1972.
The smallpox vaccine can still be used to protect against monkeypox and is more than 85 percent effective, according to the WHO.
There is also a newer vaccine that was approved for monkeypox in 2019, but availability is limited. The WHO also notes that an antiviral agent known as tecovirimate, developed for smallpox, was licensed for monkeypox in 2022 by the European Medical Association, but is not yet widely available.
Antiviral drugs for smallpox can also be used to treat monkeypox in certain circumstances, a spokesman for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services said in a statement.
In Canada, PHAC says it has given Quebec a small consignment of Imvamune measles vaccine from Canada’s National Strategic Emergency Reserve, and other jurisdictions may receive some delivery.
In April, Canada for Public Services and Public Procurement launched a tender for the purchase of 500,000 doses of Imvamune vaccine between 2023 and 2028.
PHAC also says there is currently no need for mass immunizations against monkeypox.
COVID-19 is more contagious and deadly
COVID-19 is now considered one of the most contagious viruses in the world; the main reason it spreads so fast.
Medical researchers measure the infectivity of the virus by determining its primary reproductive number or R0. This number measures how many people are likely to be infected by a sick person.
R0 of 1 means that the average carrier can be expected to infect another person. R0 below 1 means that the virus will disappear on its own, and higher numbers increase the possibility of outbreaks, epidemics and pandemics.
For the original version of COVID-19 in 2020, the number was between 2 and 3. This number is probably more than double for the omicron variant, recent studies show.
Although the R0 of monkeypox has not yet been determined, it is thought to be much lower than that of COVID, according to the WHO.
Previously, the longest documented chain of monkeypox infection was four generations of human-to-human transmission, Health Canada notes, suggesting it has “limited potential to spread the epidemic.”
Monkeypox is also less deadly than COVID. Although there is a more serious strain of the virus, Lowe said most reported cases are mild infections.
“It disappears on its own in two to four weeks without any treatment,” she said.
In Africa, one to 10 percent of those infected with monkeypox die. Child mortality is higher.
The WHO says the death rate has recently been around three to six percent, but the estimated deaths in Montreal and elsewhere appear to be lighter.
With files from Solarina Ho and the Associated Press
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