A senior adviser to the World Health Organization described the unprecedented outbreak of monkeypox in developed countries as “a random event” that could be explained by sexual behavior at two recent Christmas parties. electronic music, or raves, in Europe.
Dr. David Heymann, who previously headed the WHO emergency department, told The Associated Press that the leading theory to explain the spread of the disease was sexual transmission at raves held in Spain and Belgium. Monkeypox has not previously caused widespread outbreaks beyond Africa, where it is endemic in animals.
“Sexual contact has now amplified that transmission”
“We know that monkeypox can spread when there is close contact with the lesions from someone infected, and it appears that sexual contact has now amplified that transmission,” said Heymann.
This represents a significant change from the typical pattern of spread of the disease in Central and West Africa, where people are mainly infected through animals such as wild rodents and primates, and the outbreaks have not crossed borders.
Can monkeypox become a pandemic?
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Sexual intercourse or close contact?
The health authorities state that the majority of known cases in Europe have occurred among men who have sexual intercourse with other men, but anyone can become infected through close contact with a sick person, their clothes, or their sheets. Scientists say it will be difficult to unravel whether the spread is due to sexual intercourse or mere close contact.
“By nature, sexual activity involves intimate contact, which would be expected that would increase the probability of transmission, whatever the sexual orientation of the person and regardless of the mode of transmission, ”said Mike Skinner, a virologist at Imperial College London.
On Monday , the director of the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control, Andrea Ammon, stated that ” the probability that the virus will continue to spread through close contact, for example, during sexual activities between people with multiple sexual partners, it is considered high”.
WHO: 90 cases of monkeypox
Until date, the WHO has recorded more than 90 cases of monkeypox in a dozen of countries, including Canada, Spain, Israel, France, Switzerland, the United States and Australia. On Monday, Denmark announced its first case,
Portugal revised its total upwards to 37, Italy reported a new infection and the United Kingdom added 37 more cases.
Germany has four confirmed cases related to exposure at “party events… where there was sexual activity” in Spain’s Canary Islands and in Berlin, according to a government report to lawmakers obtained by the AP.
Madrid’s top health official said on Monday that the Spanish capital had 30 confirmed cases. Enrique Ruiz Escudero said authorities are investigating possible links between a recent Gay Pride event in the Canary Islands, which attracted some 80.05 people, and the cases in a sauna in Madrid.
The UN denounces racist and homophobic reports
For its part, the United Nations agency for AIDS qualified this Sunday (22.05.2022) of racist and homophobic some reports on the monkeypox virus, warning that they exacerbate stigma and undermine the response to the growing outbreak.
UNAIDS said that “a significant proportion” of recent monkeypox cases are have been identified among homosexuals, bisexuals and other men who have sex with men.
But transmission is more likely through close physical contact with a monkeypox sufferer and can affect anyone, he added, saying that some depictions of Africans and LGBTI people “reinforce homophobic and racist stereotypes and they exacerbate stigma.”
“Stigma and guilt undermine confidence and the ability to respond effectively during outbreaks like this one,” said UNAIDS Deputy Executive Director Matthew Kavanagh.
“Experience shows that stigmatizing rhetoric can quickly defuse the evidence-based response, fueling cycles of fear, driving people away from health services, hampering efforts to identify cases, and encouraging ineffective and punitive measures.”
Mild cases to date
Cases of monkeypox so far they have been mild, with no deaths recorded. The virus typically causes fever, chills, rashes, and lesions on the face or genitals. Most people recover in several weeks without requiring hospitalization.
Vaccines against smallpox, a related disease, are effective in preventing monkeypox, and some are being developed. antiviral drugs. In recent years, the disease has been fatal in up to 6% of infections.
No evidence of mutation to more infectious forms
Heymann chaired an urgent meeting of the WHO advisory group on infectious disease threats on Friday to assess the outbreak and said there was no evidence to suggest monkeypox had mutated into a more infectious form. )
The UN agency called the outbreak “a highly unusual event” and said the fact that cases are being seen in so many different countries suggests the virus may have been spreading quietly for some time. The director of the agency for Europe warned that festivals and parties could accelerate the spread.
Even so, in a session public held on Monday, WHO officials described the outbreak as “containable” and warned of the danger of est igmatize affected groups, stating that the disease can infect anyone.
The agency said the cases appeared to be linked to a monkeypox virus that was first detected in cases exported from Nigeria to Britain, Israel and Singapore in 2001 Y 2019.
Most cases are young men
The authorities of the United Kingdom, Spain and Portugal have said that the majority of cases identified so far were in young men whose infections were detected when they sought help for lesions at sexual health clinics.
Heymann, who is also a professor of infectious diseases at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, said the monkeypox outbreak was likely a random event that could be traced to a single infection.
“It is very possible that someone became infected, developed lesions on the genitals, on the hands or somewhere else, and then spread it to other people when there was sexual or close physical contact,” Heymann said. “And then there were these international events that seeded the outbreak throughout the world, in the United States and other European countries.”
Belgium becomes the first country to introduce mandatory quarantine against monkeypox as “cases rise worldwide”. Remember what we said #InContact from the 2001 right on this stage? Good week. https://t.co/Zb4VrXhimk
– Rubén Luengas (@rubengluengas) May 22,
“This is not COVID”
He stressed that the disease is unlikely to trigger widespread transmission. “This is not COVID,” he said. “We have to stop it, but it doesn’t spread in the air and we have vaccines to protect it.”
Heymann said studies should be done quickly to determine if monkeypox can be transmitted by people without symptoms and that populations at risk of contracting the disease should take precautions to protect themselves.
Read more:
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Monkeypox: what is known about the unusual outbreak detected in several regions and why it will not be “like another covid pandemic”