Monkeypox is generally endemic in West and Central Africa, but many countries and regions outside these regions have reported monkeypox cases since May.
According to CCTV News, on July 23, local time, the World Health Organization declared the monkeypox outbreak to constitute a "public health emergency of international concern".
According to foreign media analysis, this rare determination means that WHO believes that the monkeypox epidemic has posed a sufficiently large threat, and in order to prevent its spread and may even evolve into a pandemic, a coordinated response by the international community is needed.
On July 14, 2022, local time, in New York, USA, people lined up to receive monkeypox vaccine. Figure/IC photo
The monkeypox outbreak has threatened the global health situation
Under the International Health Regulations (IHR) in 2005, 16 experts from the WHO Emergency Committee assessed whether the current monkeypox outbreak constituted a "Public Health Emergency of International Concern" and made recommendations to WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, who ultimately decided whether to declare the monkeypox outbreak a "Public Health Emergency of International Concern".
On July 23, local time, the World Health Organization held a press conference in Geneva, and Tedros announced that the monkeypox epidemic was listed as a "public health emergency of international concern".
The U.S. Consumer News and Business Channel (CNBC) reported that this rare determination means that WHO now believes that the monkeypox outbreak has posed a sufficiently large threat to the global health situation and requires a coordinated international response to prevent further spread of the monkeypox virus and possibly escalate into a pandemic.
CNBC, citing WHO data, reported that more than 16,000 cases of monkeypox have been reported in 75 countries and territories to date, and from late June to early July, the number of confirmed cases of monkeypox infection increased by 77%. Currently, male contacts have the highest risk of monkeypox infection.
Previously, due to the spread of the monkeypox epidemic, the WHO Emergency Committee held several meetings to study the monkeypox epidemic situation. Earlier, on 25 June, the WHO Emergency Committee said that the recent monkeypox outbreak in many countries and regions did not constitute a "public health emergency of international concern".
The "Public Health Emergency of International Concern", the highest level of alert issued by WHO, is defined as "a special event identified as a disease spreading globally, posing a public health risk to other countries and requiring a coordinated international response", which means that a serious, sudden, unusual or unexpected situation has occurred that has a public health impact beyond the borders of the affected countries and may require immediate action globally.
The monkeypox outbreak constitutes a "Public Health Emergency of International Concern", the seventh "Public Health Emergency of International Concern" declared by WHO since the implementation of the IHR in 2005, followed by the 2009 influenza A(H1N1) virus, the 2014 wild poliovirus, the 2014 West African Ebola virus, the 2016 Brazilian Zika virus, and the 2018-2020 Dr. Congo (2019) Ebola outbreak (declared in 2019). and COVID-19 in 2020.
On June 27, 2022, local time, seoul, South Korea, the National Central Medical Center began to vaccinate medical staff against monkeypox. Figure/IC photo
Monkeypox is contracted through sexual activity in about 95% of cases
An international team of researchers led by scientists at Queen Mary University of London reported in the New England Journal of Medicine on July 21 that researchers analyzed 528 cases of monkeypox reported in 16 countries from April 27 to June 24 this year, and found that 95% of these cases were sexually transmitted.
The study found that 98 percent of these cases were gay or bisexual men, and 41 percent were infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). The median age of patients was 38 years.
Although most cases are in male-male contacts, the possibility of monkeypox infection in other groups is not ruled out.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced on July 22 that U.S. health officials had confirmed that two children were infected with the monkeypox virus, one of whom was a California resident and the other a non-U.S. resident. The two cases have no contact with each other, most likely due to transmission of the monkeypox virus among family members, and are currently in good condition. This is also the first case of monkeypox in the United States.
CNN reports that children have been diagnosed with monkeypox virus, meaning anyone can be infected with monkeypox virus due to close skin-to-skin contact. In the case of children, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that monkeypox virus infection in children is spread through "intimate contact behaviors such as cuddling, as well as sharing items such as towels, bedding, cups and cutlery."
Jennifer McQueston, deputy director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said on July 22 that the emergence of child monkeypox cases is not surprising and that the United States should be prepared to respond to more population cases.
"As far as I know, cases of children and women have also been reported in Europe and other places where monkeypox outbreaks are spreading, and the same thing is expected to happen in the United States, and we need to be vigilant and ready to respond to monkeypox outbreaks and release relevant information." McQueston said.
Experts worry that medical inequality may be exacerbating
According to Xinhua, some experts worry that declaring the monkeypox outbreak a "public health emergency of international concern" could inadvertently exacerbate the vaccine battle, exacerbating existing health inequalities in rich and poor countries. Many wealthy countries have stockpiled vaccines in large quantities, although the symptoms of monkeypox cases found in these countries are relatively mild.
Dimi Ogoina, a member of the WHO Emergency Committee and a professor of medicine at the University of the Niger Delta in Nigeria, also said that the current global vaccine supply is limited and there may be another case of rich countries stockpiling vaccines in large quantities.
Smallpox immunization has been shown to provide some cross-protection against monkeypox, and the World Health Organization declared smallpox eradicated in 1980, but vaccine stocks were maintained. But The World Health Organization's Regional Director for Africa, Machidisso Muti, said the global stockpile of smallpox vaccines for monkeypox prevention was "extremely limited at this stage" and that WHO was working to ensure that countries had equitable access to vaccines and treatments.
The WHO Regional Office for Africa has also previously said that the supply of monkeypox vaccine is insufficient at this stage, and recommends vaccination for groups in high-risk environments, such as health workers who trace close contacts of cases.
Beijing News reporter Zhu Yuehong
Edited by Chen Jing Proofreader Fu Chunyan