Why Experts Think Monkeypox Won’t Cause a COVID-Like Pandemic

This article was originally published in English

Although the flash monkey pox in a number of African countries this is disturbingThe situation is different from what the world experienced just four years ago with COVID-19, as health experts explain to Euronews.

However, it is urgent to respond to mpox, especially because Cases of the new variant, which is likely more contagious, continue to spread.particularly in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), and it is likely that get to other countries.

A case of this new variant, clade 1b, has been confirmed in Sweden, and another case was confirmed this week in Thailand, with both cases in people who had travelled to countries with outbreaks.

Meanwhile, European health authorities raised the risk level for the region last week, days after the World Health Organization (WHO) declared mpox a global health emergency.

Euronews Health spoke to experts about whether Europeans should be worried and some key messages about the possibility of eliminating the virus.

Monkeypox (mpox) is not COVID

Monkeypox is an infectious disease caused by the monkeypox virus which usually causes a skin rash or lesions, as well as other symptoms such as fever or muscle pain.

The virus was previously declared a global health emergency in 2022, but experts say it is very different from the last global health crisis caused by COVID-19.

“People shouldn’t be alarmed in Europe “because of the possibility of a COVID-like situation happening again because of the mpox,” Dr. Marc-Alain Widdowson, head of WHO’s European Office for High Threat Pathogens, told Euronews Health. Covid-19, for example, is a respiratory virus, while mpox “it’s pretty hard to get a contract”“he added.

“This requires degree of prolonged contact to be able to become infected or intense contact, such as sexual intercourse (which was) the predominant mode of transmission in Europe,” he explained.

A A less severe variant of mpox, known as clade II, continues to spread in European countries.WHO Europe estimates that the region is registering around 100 new cases per month.

However, there are concerns that the MPOX virus has evolved into variant 1b, a new strain of the virus that is historically more severe. spread to a number of African countries cases that did not occur before.

Experts say the virus is likely more contagious but more information is needed. “We’ve already withdrawn variant II (in Europe), the last thing we want is for variant I to be introduced,” Widdowson said.

But while COVID-19 spreads more easily among the population as an airborne pathogen, mpox requires “person-to-person contact, so it’s harder to transmit,” Tariq said.

Widdowson added that mpox is a virus that European countries have been facing for the past two yearss, so they know how to contain it.

“But despite this, we cannot rest on our laurels and must ensure that an investigation is carried out and that any imports into the region are stopped,” he said.

Is it possible to liquidate mpox in Europe?

Experts say that in Europe missed an opportunity during the latest health emergency not to eliminate mpox entirely, but so that a new global focus on the virus can help galvanize those efforts.

“I think we now have an opportunity to take a hard look at our response, to think about vaccinate people who are at highest risk of infection with variant II“We need to be very attentive to cases, testing and making sure we have adequate diagnoses to know whether we are dealing with a variant II or variant I virus,” Tariq told Euronews Health.

Widdowson, for his part, recommends that European governments expand oversight and transfer data “quickly and transparently.”

This includes isolating patients, tracing their contacts and investigating what the virus is doing.

In EuropeVariant II is most often spread among men who have sex with men.but this type can affect different demographic groups.

However, the WHO does not recommend closing borders or imposing travel restrictions, which Widdowson said could contribute to stigma.

Infections have no borders

The current outbreaks offer “very important lessons” about global vaccine equity, Tariq said. Developed countries have been criticized for uneven distribution of vaccines, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Sharing information about pathogens in exchange for access to vaccines and treatments in developing countries This is one of the key issues holding up negotiations on a global treaty to combat the pandemic.

Regarding mpox, the European Commission announced plans to partner with pharmaceutical company Bavarian Nordic to supply more than 215,000 doses of the mpox vaccine MVA-BN to the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention.

French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal said 232 vaccination sites had opened in the country and that The French government will also donate 100,000 doses of vaccines. through the European Union to the most affected countries.

However, Widdowson believes there must be a mechanism for automatic delivery of the vaccine.

The emergence of mpox also shows that “infections have no borders,” according to UCL’s Tariq. “We live in an interconnected world. We cannot be complacent and contain infections where they occur,” he said.

“We need to support our colleagues in the hardest hit regions to cope with this outbreak.not only for their population, but for ours as well,” he added.