The World Health Organization (WHO) has provided up-to-date information on the monkeypox situation as confirmed and suspected cases continue to increase worldwide.
There are already more than 550 confirmed cases in countries where the disease is not endemic. The United Kingdom continues to be hardest hit, with 106 cases reported by the WHO on Sunday rising to 179, according to the UK Health Security Agency. Portugal reported 49 cases, while in North America Canada reported 26 cases and the United States reported 10.
Although monkeypox has a relatively large number of cases per year when it is endemic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo observed 1,284 cases from January 1 to May 8, 2022, the WHO notes. who carry the disease.
“What we’re seeing now is really quite different,” Rosamund Lewis, technical director for Monkeypox in the WHO’s Emergency Health Program, told CNN. “We see that all cases appear in a relatively short period of time. We see that in a few days, in a few weeks, we see over 500 cases. This is different. This has not been observed before. “
Although cases are already high, the WHO notes that cases should be expected to increase as surveillance expands to countries where the disease is not endemic. Although they stress that the overall risk to public health is “moderate”, the WHO said the risk could be high if the disease is identified as a human pathogen or if it spreads to vulnerable groups such as young children or immunosuppressed people.
They added that “there is likely to be little immunity against monkeypox among people living in non-endemic countries, as the virus has not been previously identified in these populations.” Vaccines that confer immunity to smallpox include smallpox vaccines, which means that so far only older members of society can have this protection, as the world has stopped vaccinating after a similar (albeit deadly) The disease was declared eradicated in 1980.
“Vaccines against smallpox and monkeypox, when available, are being deployed in a limited number of countries to manage close contacts,” the WHO update said. “While smallpox vaccines have been shown to protect against monkeypox, there is a vaccine approved for the prevention of monkeypox. This vaccine is based on a vaccine virus strain (commonly known as a modified vaccinia Ankara Bavarian Nordic strain, or MVA-BN). This vaccine is approved for the prevention of monkeypox in Canada and the United States. “
The focus of health authorities around the world remains on monitoring and tracking contacts to prevent further spread of the disease. In addition to concerns about human-to-human transmission – which is already reportedly happening – some worry that another animal or animals may act as a reservoir for the disease.
“The natural reservoir of monkeypox remains uncharacterized to this day. However, rodents and rabbits are known to be susceptible to monkeypox. Cats and dogs are probably not infected with monkeypox. The transmission of pets such as hamsters, guinea pigs, chinchillas or rabbits should be avoided, as they are likely to be sick and can transmit the virus to other people in the household, “said Prof. Francois Balu, professor of computer biology and director. of the UCL Genetics Institute told the Science Media Center.
Balu explains that the risk of monkeypox becoming a stable reservoir in pets is low, as it requires constant contact between animal and animal, which occurs only in nature or livestock.
“The emergence of a reservoir for monkeypox outside Africa will require transfusion into commensal rodents, such as rats, mice or wild ones,” he added. “This would be a highly undesirable development, but is unlikely to involve an intermediate transmission event through pets.”
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