WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, who last Saturday declared monkeypox a global health emergency, told reporters the best way to protect against infection was to “reduce the risk of exposure.” “For men who have sex with men, this includes, for now, reducing your number of sexual partners, reconsidering sex with new partners and sharing contact details with any new partners to enable follow-up if necessary “, he said on Wednesday. . Since early May, an increase in monkeypox infections has been reported outside West and Central African countries, where the disease has long been endemic. Tedros said on Wednesday that more than 18,000 cases of monkeypox have now been reported to the WHO from 78 countries, with 70% of cases reported in Europe and 25% in the Americas. Five deaths have been reported in the outbreak since May, and about 10 percent of those infected end up in hospital for pain management, he said.
“Anyone” can get monkeypox
About 98 percent of cases have occurred in men who have sex with men. A study published in the New England Journal of Medicine last week found that 98 percent of infected people were gay or bisexual men, and 95 percent of cases were transmitted through sexual activity. However, experts said transmission of the disease, which causes a blistering rash, appears to occur mainly during close, physical contact and monkeypox has so far not been classified as a sexually transmitted infection (STD). Experts have also warned against thinking that only one community can contract the disease, stressing that it spreads through regular skin-to-skin contact, as well as through droplets or touching contaminated bedding or towels in a domestic environment. “Anyone exposed can get monkeypox,” Tedros said, urging countries to “take action” to reduce the risk of transmission to other vulnerable groups, including children, pregnant women and those who are immunosuppressed. The WHO has repeatedly warned of the stigma surrounding the disease, which could prevent those infected from seeking treatment. “Stigma and discrimination can be as dangerous as any virus and can fuel the outbreak,” Tedros said. Andy Seale of the WHO’s sexually transmitted infections programme, stressed that the messages about the need for gay and bisexual men to reduce the number of sexual partners “came from the communities themselves”. But he said this was probably only “a short-term message as we hope that the outbreak, of course, will be short-lived”. He stressed that other measures will be needed to reduce the number of cases, including spreading information about the symptoms to look out for and the need for rapid isolation and access to tests and medicines.
No mass vaccination
WHO also recommends targeted vaccination for those exposed to a person with monkeypox or for those at high risk of exposure, including healthcare workers and those with multiple sexual partners. “At this time, we do not recommend mass vaccination against monkeypox,” Tedros said. Vaccines originally developed against smallpox – the much deadlier cousin of smallpox that went extinct more than four decades ago – have been found to protect against the virus, but vaccines are in short supply. Tedros also stressed that “vaccination will not provide immediate protection against infection or disease and may take several weeks.” On supply challenges, he said there were about 16 million doses of the main vaccine, from the Danish drug company Bavarian Nordic, but that most of them were in bulk. “It will take several months to fill and finish vials that are ready for use,” he said, urging countries that have already secured doses to share. “We must ensure equitable access to vaccines for all individuals and communities affected by monkeypox in all countries, in all regions.”
