Monkeypox, to be renamed by the World Health Organization (WHO), is common in West and Central Africa, but an unprecedented outbreak in recent weeks has resulted in outbreaks in many countries from France to Canada and Australia. It is understood that the WHO will meet next week to decide whether the epidemic will be classified as an emergency for public health of international interest. As of June 12, 470 cases had been identified in the UK, including an increase of 104 reported in the UK last Monday. Experts warn that further measures may be needed to limit the rise. “At the moment there is no clear indication that the current epidemic is under control,” said Paul Hunter, a professor of medicine at the University of East Anglia. So far, cases have been found mainly in men who are gay or bisexual or have sex with men – although experts have expressed concerns about the stigma of certain communities, stressing that anyone can get smallpox and that it is transmitted between people through close contact. contact. A smallpox vaccine is also available that also offers protection against monkeypox, with current guidelines ideally advising vaccines to be given in close contact within four days of exposure to monkeypox to prevent or reduce the effects. of the infection, although in some cases it may be given to people up to 14 days after exposure to reduce symptoms if an infection has occurred. “I guess if we do not see this coming under control very soon, then we are considering offering a vaccine to all men who have sex with men, and possibly women sex workers,” Hunter said. Professor Jimmy Whitworth of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine also expressed concern. “These numbers of new cases suggest that we have not yet brought the monkey pox epidemic under control,” he said, although he warned that it was necessary to look into the trend for a longer period of time, which could take a week or two. before the number of new cases decreased when the transmission was brought under control. But Whitworth said it was clearly a very difficult outburst to control. “There seems to have been some widespread event that allowed the infections to spread rapidly in many different countries, and there are transmission chains that suggest there may have been some cases without obvious signs of infection that allowed further spread that was not detected,” he said. Hunter said there were probably a lot of factors at play. “What worries me most is that for a disease that can be transmitted to some, it may be that people may not be completely honest about their contacts, and if that is the case, then a public education strategy approach. and the vaccination ring may not be enough, “he said, adding that another concern was how well the contacts were maintained during the period of self-isolation. “For someone who is not openly gay to be isolated for 21 days would be tantamount to going out,” Hunter said, noting that the situation is sensitive and complicated, especially for bisexual men who have not been with their partners. Subscribe to the First Edition, our free daily newsletter – every morning at 7 p.m. BST According to the United Kingdom Health Insurance Agency (UKHSA), test takers are usually informed of their results within 24 hours, with contacts being identified and monitored as soon as possible and vaccination offered if needed. However, the agency has highlighted the challenges with the outbreak, noting that “most cases reported having sex with young or casual partners, sometimes on a cruise or during chemsex, often where contact information was not available for identification. ». Dr Michael Head, senior researcher in global health at the University of Southampton, said public health teams in the UK and internationally had done an excellent job, both in locating contacts and reporting, and in sending accurate and sensitive missions. public health messages. Head said there was a small message in the UK data that the epidemic had slowed – although this was not yet certain – while the lack of infections in the wider community indicated that the transmission was based on very close contact. “This is less complicated to deal with than, for example, a Covid-19 outbreak and it encourages that the outbreak will end in the coming weeks or months,” he said. Dr Hugh Adler of the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine said there could be a positive view of the growing number of cases. “It simply came to our notice then [reflecting] “that public health messages are coming out and people are being presented for evaluation,” he said. Adler said the vaccine was not suitable for all cases, especially if they did not have close or close contact. Instead, such individuals may be monitored for possible symptoms. “Their risk is so low that vaccination would not be right for them anyway, due to our limited supplies of the vaccine, as well as the side effects,” he said.
