The World Health Organization (WHO) decided to meet urgently after the number of confirmed or suspected cases of monkeypox virus infection in West and Central Africa exceeded 100 in Europe.
Cases of monkeypox were seen in Europe in Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom, as well as in the United States, Canada and Australia.
The monkeypox virus, which was first detected in monkeys, is transmitted by close contact. However, the spread of the virus, which has rarely been released outside of the African continent, is a cause for concern.
However, experts do not expect the monkeypox epidemic to turn into a COVID-19-like pandemic because the monkeypox virus does not spread as easily as the Corona virus that causes COVID-19.
Monkey pox, a viral disease that is usually mild, usually causes high fever and blisters on the skin.
“The largest and most widespread outbreak of monkeypox in Europe is experiencing, with cases confirmed in England, Spain and Portugal,” the health services of the armed forces in Germany said in a statement. The first case in the country was detected on Friday.
The Technical Advisory Group on Pandemics and Infection Hazards Containing the Possibility of Epidemics, which provides advice on infection risks posing a threat to global health, within the WHO, decided to hold an emergency meeting on Friday.
This group is not the agency responsible for designating monkeypox with the WHO’s “public health emergency of international concern” status, considered the highest alert level and currently applicable to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Contagion in the community
Fabian Leendertz of the German Robert Koch Institute described the monkeypox epidemic as an epidemic.
However, Leendertz said, “The probability of this epidemic lasting is very low. Cases have been isolated thanks to contact tracing. There are drugs and effective vaccines that can be used if needed.”
But the head of the WHO’s European branch fears that more frequent gatherings of people for events such as parties and festivals in the upcoming summer will accelerate the spread of infections.
There is no vaccine for the monkeypox virus. But data show that vaccines used to eradicate smallpox are also 85 percent effective against monkeypox, according to the WHO.
British officials said on Thursday they are recommending that some healthcare workers and people who may have been exposed to monkeypox get smallpox vaccination.
Since 1970, cases of monkeypox have been detected in 11 African countries. There was a major epidemic in Nigeria after 2017. So far, 46 suspected cases have been detected in the country. Of these, 15 were confirmed.
The first case in Europe was detected on 7 May in a passenger returning from Nigeria to the UK.
According to an academic from the University of Oxford, more than 100 cases of monkeypox have been detected outside of the African continent since 7 May.
Most cases are not related to travel to the African continent. Therefore, the cause of this epidemic was not clear. Health officials say there is a possibility of transmission in the community.
sexual health clinics
The WHO notes that the first cases were unusual for three reasons. First, all but one case were not linked to travel to regions where monkeypox is endemic; second, sexual health service clinics detect cases and the majority of cases are seen in men who have sex with their same sex; third, the wide geographical spread of cases in Europe and beyond indicates that transmission has been going on for some time.
The UK Health Safety Agency reported that 20 cases have been confirmed in the UK. Most cases were detected among men who identified themselves as gay or bisexual, or who had sex with their same sex.
All 14 cases identified in Portugal were men aged 20 to 40 years, who identified as gay or bisexual, or had sex with their same-sex partner and presented to sexual health clinics.
Health authorities in Spain announced on Friday that 23 new cases were detected, mostly in and around Madrid. The cases were found to be linked to a sauna.
Alessio D’Amato, health official from the Lazio region of Italy, noted that it is too early to say that the disease has turned into a sexually transmitted disease. Three cases have emerged so far in Italy.
Stuart Neil, professor of virology at Kings College London, says sexual contact is close contact.
“The idea that monkeypox is sexually transmitted is a bit of an exaggeration,” says Professor Neil. Noting that viruses from different cases have been mapped to understand whether there is a connection between the cases, WHO is expected to update the data on the subject shortly.