In a piece of recent news, some prominent infectious disease experts are pushing for faster action from global health authorities to contain a growing monkeypox outbreak that has spread to at least 20 countries.
Alarming Monkeypox Outbreak
Experts are arguing that governments and the World Health Organization should not repeat the early missteps of the COVID-19 pandemic that delayed the detection of cases, helping the virus spread. While monkeypox is not as transmissible or dangerous as COVID, scientists say, there needs to be clearer guidance on how a person infected with monkeypox should isolate, more explicit advice on how to protect people who are at risk, and improved testing and contact tracing.
The WHO is considering whether the monkeypox outbreak should be assessed as a potential public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC), an official told Reuters. A WHO determination that an outbreak constitutes a global health emergency – as it did with COVID or Ebola – would help accelerate research and funding to contain the disease.
However, experts say it is unlikely the WHO would reach such a conclusion soon because monkeypox is a known threat the world has tools to fight. Discussing whether to set up an emergency committee, the body that recommends declaring a PHEIC is just part of the agency’s routine response.
Concerns over Widespread Outbreak
More than 300 suspected and confirmed cases of monkeypox, a usually mild illness that spreads through close contact, causing flu-like symptoms and a distinctive rash, have been reported this month. Most have been in Europe rather than in the Central and West African countries where the virus is endemic. No deaths have been reported in the current outbreak.
However, global health officials have expressed alarm over the growing monkeypox outbreak in non-endemic countries. The WHO has said it expects numbers to rise as surveillance increases. Recently, the WHO reiterated that the monkeypox virus is containable with measures including the quick detection and isolation of cases and contact tracing.
Other experts say the current response is proportionate and that deeming monkeypox a global health emergency and declaring a PHEIC would be inappropriate at this stage. Beyond labels, experts said the most important lesson of the last two years is that preventing pandemics once they have started spreading is too late.
