The coronavirus pandemic appears to be taking a back seat following the increase in cases of monkeypox. The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), responding to questions on Sunday, said it would make the recommendation for vaccination programmes in a risk assessment to be published today.
Yesterday US President Joe Biden said the United States was considering what vaccines might be available to protect people from smallpox in monkeys, saying "everyone" should be concerned as outbreaks continue to spread around the world.
"They haven't told me yet what the exposure level is, but it's something everyone should be concerned about," Biden said from South Korea shortly before leaving for Japan for the Quad summit, adding that work was under way to determine which vaccine might be effective.
There is, as yet, no approved vaccination against smallpox in monkeys.
The vaccine available in the EU, from the Danish pharmaceutical company Bavarian Nordics Imvanex, is not approved for use against monkeypox and there are no safety data on its use in immunosuppressed individuals or young children, who are at higher risk of the disease, the ECDC said.
The vaccine is also available in the UK, where health authorities have recommended a similar strategy.
WHO expects an increase in cases Child in intensive care in Britain
The World Health Organization (WHO) expects more cases of monkeypox to be detected as it expands surveillance to countries where the disease is not endemic.
Globally, there are more than 190 confirmed or suspected cases in 16 countries where the disease is not routinely detected, according to an analysis by Global.health, a data science initiative from Boston Children's Hospital and Oxford University. The rare disease usually circulates in West and Central Africa, but several cases have been detected around the world since a patient in the UK tested positive on May 7 after a trip to Nigeria.
Currently in Britain they have announced 20 confirmed cases including one child in a London hospital intensive care unit.
Close contacts of monkeypox cases with the highest risk of exposure should self-isolate for 21 days, the latest government guidance says.
The new guidance from the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) recommends that people who have had "unprotected direct contact or high-risk environmental contact" with the disease should isolate themselves and avoid contact with immunocompromised people, pregnant women and children under 12.
In the US on Friday, the CDC sent a warning to doctors and local health departments to be on the lookout for patients who may have smallpox symptoms and to report these cases. Public health officials and infectious disease experts stress that the risk to the public remains low. However, masks have also returned in New York City after the first case was detected.
Belgium has reportedly introduced a 21-day quarantine for those affected by monkeypox after four infections were recorded in the country.
WHICH COUNTRIES OUTSIDE OF AFRICA HAVE REPORTED Cases of monkey pox
Australia - 1 confirmed, 1 suspected
Austria 1 suspected
Belgium - 4 confirmed
Canada - 5 confirmed
France - 1 confirmed
Germany - 3 confirmed
Israel - 1 confirmed
Italy - 1 confirmed
Italy - 1 confirmed, 2 suspected
Netherlands - "several" confirmed cases
Portugal - 23 confirmed
Spain - 30 confirmed and 15 suspected
Sweden - 1 confirmed
Switzerland - 1 confirmed
UK - 20 confirmed
USA - 1 confirmed
UK - 20 confirmed
USA - 1 confirmed, 2 suspected
The disease, which was first identified in monkeys, can be transmitted from person to person through close physical contact including sexual contact and is caused by the simian smallpox virus.
It causes fever, body aches, chills and fatigue in most patients, and people with severe cases may develop a rash and lesions on the face, hands and other parts of the body.
The World Health Organization advises the public to prevent transmission of the infection by isolating if you have symptoms, avoiding contact with anyone who may have symptoms, wearing a mask if you come into contact with an infected person, and thoroughly cleaning hands and surfaces.
"We don't know where this infection came from."
UKHSA chief executive Dr Susan Hopkins said the disease is "relatively mild" in adults, with young children most at risk.
Dr Hopkins told the BBC's Sunday Morning programme: "We are detecting more cases on a daily basis. We know there is a period of containment across Europe and we don't know where this infection came from and how it came to Europe. There is no obvious link in our UK cases to an isolated event. In the UK the cases are predominantly homosexual or bisexual men," the head of the UK Health Security Agency said among other things.
Professor David Heyman, an infectious disease expert from the London School of Tropical Hygiene and Medicines, said that "what seems to be happening now is that (the virus) has crept into the population as a sexually transmitted disease, as a genital disease, and is being transmitted like sexually transmitted diseases, which has enhanced its spread around the world."
He pointed out that the main mode of transmission is through close contact and for this reason some countries have already started administering the smallpox vaccine to health care workers who treat cases of monkeypox.
Chickenpox the "suspected" case in Greece Differences with monkeypox
It has been officially confirmed that the 29-year-old British man, who had travelled to Kefalonia and was admitted to a negative pressure chamber at Attikon, did not test positive for monkeypox but for chickenpox. The result of the two tests was made public by the Ministry of Health and the EODY.
Explaining the differences between monkeypox and chickenpox, the EODY points out that the chickenpox virus, although it includes the synthetic -pox, is different from the virus that causes smallpox or monkeypox. There is a correlation between the symptoms and skin lesions caused by chickenpox and smallpox, monkeypox.
As the agency adds, smallpox has been eradicated from the human population since 1980 while chickenpox is a common disease that causes about 4 million infections in children. A vaccine is available for chickenpox and it causes milder disease than smallpox.
Seven questions about monkey pox
What is monkey pox?
Monkey pox is a rare viral infection that mainly occurs in tropical areas of West and Central Africa.
How can a person contract monkeypox?
Monkeypox can be transmitted through the respiratory system by inhalation of large droplets and through contact with skin lesions or contaminated materials (e.g.e.g. bed linen or towels used by a patient
Transmission is also recorded through contact with wild animals, usually primates and rodents such as rats, mice and squirrels or even with pets infected by the former.
It can rarely be transmitted by eating meat from an infected animal that has not been adequately cooked or by contact with the skin or fur of an infected animal.
What should I do to avoid getting sick?
Basic personal hygiene measures must be followed.
wash your hands with soap and water regularly or use an alcohol-based antiseptic
eat meat only if it has been adequately cooked
do not approach wild animals, including dead animals
do not come into close contact or share clothing with people who are unwell and have skin lesions
What symptoms might a sick person have?
Once someone is infected with the monkeypox virus it takes 5 to 21 days for the first symptoms to appear (usually 6 to 13 days).
These can be:
Fever
Headache
Myalgia
Backache
Swollen lymph nodes (a hallmark of differential diagnosis from smallpox)
Shivering
Loss of strength
Rash (usually occurs 1 to 3 days after the onset of fever). Often precedes the skin rash, appearance of lesions on mucous membranes, such as the mouth. The rash is initially localised on the head and face and then extends to other parts of the body including the palms and soles. It initially appears as spots and papules which develop into small blisters, pustules and then into vesicles which eventually recede.) This rash is sometimes confused with chickenpox rash.
How dangerous is this disease?
In most patients, symptoms resolve in 2 to 4 weeks.
When to contact your doctor?
If you have a rash with blisters and:
you have returned from West or Central Africa in the last 3 weeks
you have been in contact with someone who has had monkeypox in the last 3 weeks
you have been in contact with someone who has had skin lesions in the last 3 weeks
What is the treatment for monkeypox? Usually the course is mild and most patients recover in 2 to 4 weeks.
Often a hospital stay is needed to treat the symptoms and to prevent transmission of the disease.
Source: First Issue
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