New Delhi: Nine people have died in Congo while Nigeria has recorded its first death from the latest monkeypox outbreak this year, even as at least 23 countries continue to grapple with the sudden spread of the disease. In its statement on Sunday, the World Health Organisation said that the monkeypox virus has been spread to 23 non-endemic countries now, and there has so far been a cumulative total of 257 laboratory-confirmed cases and around 120 suspected cases.
Even though the rapid spread of the disease has sparked fear that it can spread even more, the UN health agency’s top monkeypox expert Dr. Rosamund Lewis said she doesn’t expect the hundreds of cases reported to date to turn into another pandemic, but acknowledged there are still many unknowns about the disease, including how exactly it’s spreading and whether the suspension of mass smallpox immunization decades ago may somehow be speeding its transmission.
“It’s very important to describe this because it appears to be an increase in a mode of transmission that may have been under-recognized in the past,” said Lewis.
“At the moment, we are not concerned about a global pandemic,” she said. “We are concerned that individuals may acquire this infection through high-risk exposure if they don’t have the information they need to protect themselves.”
She warned that anyone is at potential risk for the disease, regardless of their sexual orientation. Other experts have pointed out that it may be accidental that the disease was first picked up in gay and bisexual men, saying it could quickly spill over into other groups if it is not curbed.
Countries Declare High Alert Against Monkeypox
A spike in monkeypox cases reported in Europe and the U.S. has generated concerns among those countries, many of whom have not recorded a single case of the disease in years. Over 250 cases of the disease have been reported in more than 20 countries not usually known to have outbreaks, the World Health Organization said.
Monkeypox has not previously triggered widespread outbreaks beyond Africa, where it is endemic. One of the new cases in the U.K. was recorded in a man days after his arrival from Nigeria on May 4. Nigeria has recorded six confirmed cases of the disease the British citizen left the country.
Amid this spike of the monkeypox disease globally, several countries including India, China, Pakistan as well as other European nations have issued strict measures against the transmission of the disease.
Monkeypox in India
With several countries reporting monkeypox cases, earlier last week, the Union Health Ministry has advised all states to direct hospitals to watch out for symptomatic patients who have travelled to these countries recently and isolate them at designated healthcare facilities. The ministry had also asked health officials at airports and ports to step up surveillance and isolate symptomatic travellers from monkeypox-affected countries and send their samples to the NIV for investigation.
Meanwhile, states like Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Maharashtra, and several others have issued separate directives to keep a watch amid the global outbreak of monkeypox. The states have appealed to people to not panic about the viral zoonotic disease and appealed to the members of the public who arrive from various countries, including African nations, to report to the local health officer if they have any symptoms of monkeypox.
List of Countries That Has Reported Monkeypox Cases so Far
What is Monkeypox?
Monkeypox is a virus that originates in wild animals like rodents and primates, and occasionally jumps to people. It belongs to the same virus family as smallpox. Most human cases have been in central and west Africa and outbreaks have been relatively limited. Monkeypox is known to spread when there is close physical contact with an infected person, their clothing or bedsheets.
Monkeypox was first discovered in 1958 when two outbreaks of a pox-like disease occurred in colonies of monkeys kept for research, hence the name ‘monkeypox.’ The first human case of monkeypox was recorded in 1970 in the Democratic Republic of Congo during a period of intensified effort to eliminate smallpox. Since then monkeypox has been reported in humans in other central and western African countries.
Monkeypox is related to smallpox, but has milder symptoms. After smallpox was declared eradicated in 1980, countries suspended their mass immunisation programs, a move that some experts believe may be helping monkeypox spread, since there is now little widespread immunity to related diseases; smallpox vaccines are also protective against monkeypox.
Common Symptoms of Monkeypox
- Headache
- Acute onset of fever (>38.5oC),
- Lymphadenopathy (swollen lymph nodes)
- Myalgia (muscle and body aches)
- Back pain
- Asthenia (profound weakness)
Monkeypox typically causes fever, chills, a rash and lesions on the face or genitals. WHO estimates the disease is fatal for about one in 10 people, but smallpox vaccines are protective and some antiviral drugs are also being developed. People with more serious illness may develop a rash and lesions on the face and hands that can spread to other parts of the body.
Monkeypox endemic countries are: Benin, Cameroon, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Gabon, Ghana (identified in animals only), Ivory Coast, Liberia, Nigeria, the Republic of the Congo, Sierra Leone, and South Sudan.
WHAT CAUSED THIS LATEST OUTBREAK?
Health officials are still investigating, but a top adviser to the World Health Organization said this week that the leading theory is that monkeypox was likely spread after sexual activity at two recent raves in Europe.
Dr. David Heymann, who chairs WHO’s expert advisory group on infectious hazards, said monkeypox can spread when there is close contact with someone already infected with the disease, and that “it looks like sexual contact has now amplified that transmission.
Authorities in countries including Britain, Spain, Germany and Portugal say most of the known cases in Europe have been among men who have sex with men, but experts emphasise that anyone can be infected through close contact with a sick person, their clothing or bedsheets. Scientists say it will be difficult to determine whether the spread is being driven by sex or merely close contact.
Treatment for Monkeypox
Vaccines used during the smallpox eradication programme also provided protection against monkeypox. Newer vaccines have been developed of which one has been approved for prevention of the disease. An antiviral agent developed for the treatment of smallpox has also been licensed for the treatment of monkeypox, according to the global health body.
Vetarinarian Gaurav Sharma said studies are needed to better understand the risk. “While close physical contact is a well-known risk factor for transmission, it is unclear at this time if monkeypox can be transmitted specifically through sexual transmission routes,” said Sharma, from the Centre for Animal Disease Research And Diagnosis (CADRAD), in Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh.
“Considering the increased case fatality rates, and probable aerosol route of transmission, there is certain risk for India too,” he said. Sharma noted that studies are currently underway to further understand the epidemiology, sources of infection and transmission patterns.
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