Monkeypox Outbreak: Experts Weigh In on Reasons Behind Sudden Emergence

Strategic Insights -

Health experts say the current monkeypox outbreak in several countries is not cause for panic, but the virus's sudden spread has left many wondering how it happened. First identified in 1970, monkeypox cases usually only occur outside central and west Africa when a traveler becomes infected there and returns home. However, the World Health Organization (WHO) has reported cases rising in non-endemic countries with no link to travel or animals identified in most cases.

Key Takeaways:

  • Waning immunity from smallpox vaccination may be contributing to the increasing outbreaks of monkeypox. Prof. Raina MacIntyre from the Kirby Institute stated that it is over 40-50 years since mass vaccination ceased, and the smallpox vaccine offered strong protection against monkeypox.
  • Cases of monkeypox have actually been rising for a while, and epidemiologists flagged growing case numbers before the WHO issued its alert. Research published in February found cases re-emerged in Liberia and Sierra Leone after a four-decade absence and in Central African Republic after three decades.
  • Human-to-human spread is not easy for monkeypox, but the strange rise in cases has raised the possibility that the virus may have mutated in a way that makes person-to-person transmission more likely. However, more data and laboratory analysis is needed to confirm this theory.
  • In the current outbreak, clusters have occurred among men who have sex with men, but experts have warned against declaring it a sexually transmitted disease. Instead, it is likely that the close contact that occurs during sex is responsible for spread.
  • WHO has urged people not to stigmatize those diagnosed with the virus, stating that anyone who has close physical contact with someone who has monkeypox is at risk, regardless of who they are or their circumstances.

Statistics:

  • Since the Covid-19 pandemic began, researchers and health workers worldwide are more alert to symptoms of viruses and are quicker to report anything unusual, helping to lead to the detection of cases.
  • Human-to-human transmission of monkeypox is only 3% effective, with close contacts having a small chance of becoming infected.
  • The virus may have mutated in a way that makes person-to-person transmission more likely, but more data and laboratory analysis is needed to confirm this theory.

Sources:

  • The Medical Journal of Australia
  • PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases
  • World Health Organization (WHO)
  • Pallas Health Research and Consultancy in The Netherlands