LONDON –
The World Health Organization’s top monkey measles expert said he did not expect the hundreds of reported cases to turn into another pandemic, but acknowledged that there were still many unknowns about the disease, including exactly how it spread and whether smallpox immunization decades ago may somehow accelerate its transmission.
At a public session on Monday, Dr Rosamund Lewis of the WHO said it was crucial to stress that the vast majority of cases seen in dozens of countries around the world were gay, bisexual or men who have sex with men. so that scientists can further investigate the problem and take precautions for at-risk populations.
“It’s very important to describe this, because it seems to be about increasing a mode of transmission that may not have been sufficiently recognized in the past,” said Lewis, WHO’s technical director for monkeypox.
However, she warned that everyone is at potential risk of the disease, regardless of sexual orientation. Other experts say it may be a coincidence that the disease was first diagnosed in gays and bisexual men, saying it could quickly spread to other groups if left untreated.
Lewis said it was not known whether monkeypox was sexually transmitted or simply through close contact between people involved in sexual activity, and described the threat to the general population as “low.”
“It is not yet known whether this virus uses a new mode of transmission, but what is clear is that it continues to use its well-known mode of transmission, which is close physical contact,” Lewis said. It is known that monkeypox is spread when there is close physical contact with an infected person or his clothes or sheets.
She also warned that among the current cases, there is a higher proportion of people with fewer lesions that are more concentrated in the genital area and sometimes can hardly be seen.
“You may have these lesions for two to four weeks (s) and they may not be visible to others, but you may still be contagious,” she said.
Last week, a senior WHO adviser said the epidemic in Europe, the United States, Israel, Australia and beyond was likely linked to sex at two recent raves in Spain and Belgium. This deviates significantly from the typical pattern of disease spread in Central and West Africa, where humans are infected mainly by animals such as wild rodents and primates, and epidemics have not spread across borders.
Most patients with monkeypox experience only fever, body aches, chills and fatigue. People with more serious illnesses can develop rashes and lesions on the face and hands that can spread to other parts of the body. No deaths have been reported in the current epidemic.
Lewis of the WHO also said that while previous cases of monkeypox in Central and West Africa have been relatively controlled, it is unclear whether humans can spread monkeypox without symptoms or whether the disease can be transmitted through the air, such as measles or COVID. 19.
Monkeypox is associated with smallpox, but has milder symptoms. After smallpox was declared eradicated in 1980, the countries discontinued their mass immunization programs, a move some experts believe could help spread monkeypox, as there is now little widespread immunity to related diseases; smallpox vaccines are also protective against monkeypox.
Lewis said it would be “unfortunate” if smallpox could “use the immunity gap” left by smallpox 40 years ago, saying there was still a window of opportunity to close the outbreak so that smallpox could does not take root in new regions.
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