There are serious concerns that the US and other countries are not doing enough to prevent monkeypox from becoming a large-scale global outbreak, according to an infectious disease epidemiologist.
Last weekend, World Health Organization triggered the highest alert level for the virus, labeling monkeypox as a public health emergency of international concern.
The rare designation means that WHO now considers the outbreak to be a significant enough threat to global health that a coordinated international response is needed to prevent the virus from escalating into a pandemic. Translate.
“This is the only outbreak that we know of this virus, but it is causing a very large outbreak in several countries around the world. In fact, if we look at the number of cases disease, the United States lags behind Spain in numbers,” Dr Syra Madad, senior director of the special pathogens program at New York City Health + Hospital, told CNBC’s “Squawk Box Asia” today. Monday.
“It’s not an outbreak to take lightly. What’s really worrying is that it’s become a virus that has been developed in the United States, as well as in other countries where this virus is not. its endemic,” she added.
“That’s really unacceptable,” said Madad, especially in light of the Covid pandemic, for countries struggling to contain the spread of monkeypox.
“After all the lessons learned with Covid-19, we shouldn’t be dealing with an outbreak of this scale and not doing enough to make sure it doesn’t become endemic,” she added.
Although the WHO statement does not place a claim on national governments, it is seen as an urgent call to action.
Viral cases are evolving
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says monkeypox can be spread through respiratory droplets following direct contact or prolonged intimate contact. The virus can also be spread by contact with bodily fluids, skin lesions, and contaminated items such as bed sheets and clothing.
More than 16,000 cases of monkeypox It has been reported in more than 70 countries so far this year, and the number of confirmed infections has increased by 77% from late June to early July, according to WHO data.
Madad said while men who have sex with men currently have the highest risk of infection, the virus is starting to spread to a wider community.
“For example, in the United States, two children have contracted monkeypox from a family transmission of monkeypox. We know these cases can start to increase over a period of time,” she said. times when there is more transmission in the community”.
In Monday, WHO warns against complacency in containing the outbreak, said there was no guarantee that the virus would continue to spread in particular communities.
While cases have so far been concentrated in gay and bisexual communities, the United Nations health agency says there is little evidence that the disease will be confined to these groups. .
Instead, their early detection could be a sign of a broader outbreak.
America’s Vaccine Challenges
Madad said the best way to cut the chain of transmission is to vaccinate people who are at risk and may have been exposed to monkeypox. However, access to vaccines is a problem, she noted, especially in the US
On Friday, a senior White House official said the 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 was looking at how a public health emergency declaration could boost the US response to the outbreak.
According to the CDC, the US has reported more than 2,500 cases of monkeypox to date across 44 states, Washington, DC and Puerto Rico.
“Vaccines are continuing to be released to territories, cities and states. By the end of the year we will have about 1.6 million by the end of 2023 or mid-2023 – we will have them. there are millions of doses,” Madad said.
“But the problem here is that it’s just not happening enough,” she added as demand currently outstrips supply. “We really need to get ahead of this epidemic.”
– CNBC’s Spencer Kimball contributed to the report.
