(London) The World Health Organization said on Thursday that nearly 200 cases of monkeypox (also called monkey pox) have been detected in more than 20 countries where outbreaks of this unusual disease are not normally reported.
Posted at 9:15 a.m.
The UN health agency, however, assured that it is possible to “contain” this epidemic and it proposed to constitute reserves to share equitably the limited quantities of vaccines and drugs available throughout the world.
In a public session on Friday, the WHO said many questions currently remain unanswered about the current outbreak, but there is no evidence to suggest genetic changes to the virus.
“The first sequencing of the virus shows that the strain is no different from that found in endemic countries and [cette éclosion] is probably more attributable to a change in human behavior,” said the Director of Pandemic and Epidemic Diseases for the WHO, Dr. Sylvie Briand.
Earlier this week, a WHO adviser said the outbreak in Europe, the United States, Israel, Australia and elsewhere is likely linked to sexual activity at two parties in Spain and Belgium.
This represents a significant change to the usual spread of the disease. In West and Central Africa, victims are normally infected by animals such as rodents or primates, and outbreaks have never crossed a country’s borders.
On Friday, Spanish officials revealed that the number of cases rose to 98, including that of a woman whose infection is linked to a chain of transmission that previously only affected men, according to authorities in the Madrid region. .
Doctors from the UK, Spain, Portugal, Canada, the US and elsewhere have noted that the majority of infections so far have occurred in gay or bisexual men. However, specialists point out that sexual orientation has no impact on the risk of infection.
Public health in Quebec has identified 25 confirmed cases of monkeypox since May 12, all in the greater Montreal area.
Briand said the current situation appears to be “containable,” based on the evolution of previous outbreaks in Africa.
Still, she added, the WHO expects more cases to be reported in the future, warning that “we don’t know if we’re just seeing the tip of the iceberg. [ou] if there are several additional cases that go unnoticed in the community”.
As countries like Canada, the UK, Germany and the US begin to assess how smallpox vaccines could be used to stem the outbreak, the WHO says its experts will decide. on the matter very soon.
WHO’s smallpox officer, Dr Rosamund Lewis, assured “there is no need for mass vaccination”, explaining that monkeypox does not spread easily and usually requires skin-to-skin contact for transmission.
No vaccine has been developed specifically against monkeypox, but the WHO calculates that smallpox vaccines are around 85% effective.
The agency said countries that have stocks of the vaccine could reserve them for those most at risk of infection, such as healthcare workers, but that monkeypox could primarily be controlled by isolating contacts. and with epidemiological investigations.
Given the limited quantities of vaccine available, the head of emergencies for the WHO, Dr. Mike Ryan, indicated that the agency will work with its members to potentially develop central storage similar to that set up during outbreaks. yellow fever, meningitis or cholera in countries that cannot afford them.
“We are talking about distributing vaccines for targeted vaccination campaigns, for targeted therapeutic purposes,” he said. So the volumes don’t necessarily need to be huge, but each country might need access to a small amount of vaccine. »
Most victims of monkeypox experience fever, body aches, chills, and fatigue. The most severe cases develop sores on the face and hands that can spread to other parts of the body.