There are serious concerns that the US and other countries are not doing enough to prevent monkeypox from becoming a large-scale global epidemic, according to an infectious disease epidemiologist.
Over the weekend, the World Health Organization activated its highest level of alert for the virus, designating monkeypox a public health emergency of international concern.
The rare designation means the WHO now views the outbreak as a significant enough threat to global health that a coordinated international response is needed to prevent the virus from potentially escalating into a pandemic.
“This is a unique epidemic where we know this virus, but it is causing a very large epidemic in a number of countries around the world. In fact, if we look at the number of cases, the United States is somewhat behind Spain in the number of cases,” Dr. Sira Madad, senior director of the Special Pathogens Program at New York City Health + Hospitals, told CNBC’s “Squawk Box Asia” on Monday.
“This is not an outbreak to be taken lightly. “What’s really a big concern is that it’s becoming an established virus in the United States as well as other countries where this virus is not endemic,” she added.
Madad said it was “really unacceptable” especially after the Covid pandemic that countries are struggling to contain the spread of monkeypox.
“Having all the lessons learned with Covid-19, we should not be dealing with an outbreak of this magnitude and we are not doing enough to ensure that this does not become endemic,” she added.
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Although the WHO declaration does not impose requirements on national governments, it serves as an urgent call to action.
Increasing cases of viruses
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said monkeypox can spread through respiratory droplets after prolonged face-to-face contact or intimate physical contact. The virus can also be spread through contact with body fluids, skin lesions, and contaminated items such as sheets and clothing.
More than 16,000 cases of monkeypox have been reported in more than 70 countries so far this year, and the number of confirmed infections rose 77 percent from late June to early July, according to WHO data.
Madad said that while men who have sex with men are currently at the highest risk of infection, the virus is starting to spread to the wider community.
“For example, in the United States, two children contracted monkeypox through transmission from the home of someone who had monkeypox. We know that these cases may begin to increase over time as more transmissions occur in the community,” she said.
On Monday, the WHO warned against complacency in containing the outbreak, saying there was no guarantee the virus would continue to spread in certain communities.
Although cases so far have been mostly concentrated in gay and bisexual communities, the UN health agency said there was little evidence to suggest the disease would remain confined to those groups.
Rather, their early detection may be a harbinger of a wider outbreak.
Vaccine challenges in the US
Madad said the best way to break chains of transmission is to vaccinate people who are at risk and may have been exposed to monkeypox. However, she noted that access to vaccines is a problem, especially in the US
A senior White House official said Friday that President Joe Biden is considering declaring a public health emergency in response to a growing monkeypox outbreak. Dr. Ashish Jha, the White House’s Covid response coordinator, said the administration is considering how a public health emergency declaration could bolster the US response to the outbreak.
The U.S. has reported more than 2,500 cases of monkeypox so far in 44 states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico, according to the CDC.
“Vaccines continue to be released in territories, cities and states. By the end of this year, we will have about 1.6 million by the end of 2023 or mid-2023 – we will have millions of doses,” Madad said.
“But the problem here is that it’s just not happening enough,” she added, as demand is currently outstripping supply. “We really need to get ahead of this epidemic.”
— CNBC’s Spencer Kimball contributed to this report.
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