Monkeypox outbreak a ‘global health emergency’
The World Health Organisation has declared the monkeypox outbreak a ‘‘global health emergency’’ of international concern.
It means the virus outbreak joins the ranks of swine flu, polio, Ebola, Zika and Covid-19 in receiving the WHO’s highest possible alert.
At least 16,000 cases have been reported from 75 countries. ‘‘We have an outbreak that has spread around the world rapidly, through new modes of transmission, about which we understand too little,’’ said WHO Director General, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus yesterday.
The disease is generally mild: just five confirmed Monkeypox deaths have been recorded. ‘‘For the moment this is an outbreak that is concentrated among men who have sex with men,’’ added Tedros. ‘‘That means that this is an outbreak that can be stopped with the right strategies in the right groups.’’
The WHO’s emergency committee had been unable to reach a consensus on whether the outbreak should be considered a global health emergency – yet Tedros had decided it was indeed of international concern.
It is hoped that declaring it a global health emergency will help countries to speed up implementing measures to slow the virus.
Tedros said overall risk from the monkeypox outbreak globally is low, except for Europe where it is ‘‘high’’.
‘‘This outbreak is concerning for public health practitioners around the world as it has proved very challenging to prevent onward transmission of infection,’’ said Professor Jimmy Whitworth at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.
‘‘But it is not a situation that should unduly worry the general public.’’
Whitworth added: ‘‘It is to be hoped that the increased attention to this disease leads to more focus on control within Africa, the natural home of this virus, where the number of cases has been increasing for the past 20 years.’’
Dr Boghuma Kabisen Titanji, Assistant Professor of Medicine, Emory University, Atlanta, said: ‘‘Having another zoonotic virus infection firmly establish itself in the human population is not something we can allow and must do everything within our power to prevent this from happening.
‘‘The PHEIC is just the first step and there is a lot of work that needs to be done here onwards, it is nonetheless and important move which hopefully corrects the course of the response to this emerging pandemic.’’
The disease was first detected in central Africa in the 1950s. Symptoms typically include a high temperature, headache, muscle aches and exhaustion. A rash usually appears between one and five days after initial symptoms, often beginning on the face but spreading to the genitals and anus.
On Friday an international study published in the New England Journal of Medicine identified new clinical symptoms that had not previously been recognised – including sores on the mouth or anus – which researchers hope will make diagnosis easier.
Although it is not a sexuallytransmitted disease, it is spread through close contact with an infected person.
Around 97% of cases in Britain have been detected among men who have sex with men.
While there is no specific monkeypox vaccine, the smallpox vaccine has been proven to be 85% effective against the disease.
The NHS has began accelerating the rollout of the vaccine to eligible gay and bisexual men in London, along with frontline staff at greatest risk of exposure or who have been in contact with a case.
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has procured more than 100,000 additional doses, with 20,000 set to be delivered in time for August.
Containment in Britain looks to have been fairly successful so far. Some 2162 cases have been detected in the UK with the majority, 1513, in London – yet the number of new cases has been falling. Spain has the most cases globally, with 3125, followed by the US (2316) and Germany (2191).
Dr Josie Golding, Head of Epidemics and Epidemiology at Wellcome, said: ‘‘Tried and tested public health measures including strengthened disease surveillance, contact tracing and equitable access to tests, treatments and vaccines for those most at risk is crucial.
‘‘But governments must also support more research to understand why we are seeing new patterns of transmission.’’