Al Mayadeen English

  • Ar
  • Es
  • x
Al Mayadeen English

Slogan

  • News
    • Politics
    • Economy
    • Sports
    • Arts&Culture
    • Health
    • Miscellaneous
    • Technology
    • Environment
  • Articles
    • Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Blog
    • Features
  • Videos
    • NewsFeed
    • Video Features
    • Explainers
    • TV
    • Digital Series
  • Infographs
  • In Pictures
  • • LIVE
News
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • Sports
  • Arts&Culture
  • Health
  • Miscellaneous
  • Technology
  • Environment
Articles
  • Opinion
  • Analysis
  • Blog
  • Features
Videos
  • NewsFeed
  • Video Features
  • Explainers
  • TV
  • Digital Series
Infographs
In Pictures
  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Asia-Pacific
  • Europe
  • Latin America
  • MENA
  • Palestine
  • US & Canada
BREAKING
Israeli media: Ben Gurion Airport airspace sut down following missile launch from Yemen
Israeli media: Air raid sirens sound in the central region and Hashfala following the detection of a missile launch from Yemen
SDF announces the killing of three of its members as a result of ISIS cells detonating a landmine targeting a vehicle of a security patrol on the Hasaka-Raqqa road
The Popular Resistance Committees: We call on all international institutions to take urgent action and uphold their responsibilities by restoring and immediately enforcing effective mechanisms for the distribution of humanitarian aid.
The Popular Resistance Committees: The latest Zio-American crime against Gaza’s starving civilians constitutes a war crime, for which the US administration bears full and direct responsibility.
Gaza Media Office: Bloody spectacle shows that these zones have become collective death traps rather than aid distribution zones.
Gaza Media Office: Dozens of citizens are still surrounded under constant fire in the vicinity of the "aid station."
Gaza Media Office: As soon as citizens arrived, occupation and Americans opened direct fire on them.
Gaza Media Office: Occupation, in complicity with the US company, called on citizens to move toward Wadi Gaza Bridge, claiming that aid would be distributed.
Gaza Government Media Office: Occupation set a bloody trap at bridge of Wadi Gaza, luring thousands of starved civilians, and opened fire on them.

Imminent threat of renewed Monkeypox outbreak remains, experts warn

  • By Al Mayadeen English
  • Source: Agencies
  • 21 Oct 2022 23:43
4 Min Read

Monkeypox has usually been spread via human contact, but in African regions, the virus is mostly spread through contact with animals, especially rodents in rural zones.

  • x
  • Monkeypox retreating but threat remains, experts warn
    Monkeypox retreating but threat remains, experts warn

Although the monkeypox outbreak has been receding globally in recent months, experts have been warning against an imminent threat that the virus may resurge as some African countries are still faced with this burden as it has long been endemic.

The World Health Organization said this week that since the month of May, more than 73,000 cases and 29 deaths have been recorded in over 100 countries.

The virus peaked in July, followed by a consistent fall in total cases, especially in the European and North American continents which were the hardest hit areas in the early stages of the global outbreak. 

The number of new global cases fell by 20% in the seven days up to Sunday compared to the previous week, the WHO said.

In some areas, cases are still increasing to unusual frequencies, as in the South American country of Peru where cases rose to 7% during that short timespan. 

"We are heading towards the end, but we are not there yet," Jean-Claude Manuguerra, head of the environment and infectious risks unit at France's Pasteur Institute, told sources.

WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said last week that "a declining outbreak can be the most dangerous outbreak because it can tempt us to think that the crisis is over, and to let down our guard."

Progress of #monkeypox index lesion:
A) on the 4th day of illness
B) on the 6th day of illness
C) on the 18th day of illness
D) Necrotic scab underneath the devitalized tissue of the index lesion on the 24th day of illness
3/7#resident #medicine pic.twitter.com/TIE5vMh1xK

— Antonio Guerrero (@guerreroespejo) October 20, 2022

Experts agree that changes in behavior by at-risk communities were an essential factor in reducing the number of cases.

NGOs also took an active role in raising awareness as they were "closer to the ground and perhaps more listened to than the authorities," according to Manuguerra. A virologist at the UK's Surrey University, Carlos Maluquer de Motes, said vaccinating against monkeypox "has helped, but the number of available doses remains low."

Even though the vaccines were originally developed to fight smallpox, they are still recommended to protect against monkeypox - though evidence of their effectiveness is "still lacking", according to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC).

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said last month that unvaccinated people were 14 times more at risk of getting monkeypox.

Historic smallpox vaccination and monkeypox virus infection elicit monkeypox-neutralizing antibodies, but these responses are less frequent and of lower magnitude after vaccination with MVA-BN, according to a @NatureMedicine paper. https://t.co/OtCr6xo7PZ pic.twitter.com/1PC0yDUh0z

— Nature Portfolio (@NaturePortfolio) October 20, 2022

According to the ECDC, there are four possible scenarios for the outbreak to re-emerge. 

One of these scenarios, and the "worst" according to the ECDC, would be that monkeypox has a resurgence worldwide as the behavior of at-risk groups returns to normal.

A second scenario is that the virus stays at low levels with sporadic outbreaks.

Third is that the virus would wave, and fourth it would be eliminated completely.

Unlike Covid, monkeypox is less contagious and does not evolve into new variants as fast as covid. 

But "the more cycles of infection there are, the more likely monkeypox is to change and adapt," Maluquer de Motes said.

Sadly, the most affected countries where most deaths have been reported are the 11 African countries where it remains endemic.

In other parts of the world, monkeypox has usually been spread by humans, but in African regions, the virus mostly spreads via animals, especially rodents in rural zones. 

Steve Ahuka-Mundeke, the head of virology at the Democratic Republic of the Congo's medical research institute INRB, said the source of the virus in Africa remains.

"We may have new exported cases and a new outbreak wave at any time," he said.

Recently, "we have again seen that global strategies are only deployed when northern countries are affected which does not at all absolve the African health authorities," he added.

Read more: "Out of control": STDs in the US on a sharp increase

  • mokeypox
  • epidemic

Most Read

President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrive to a news conference in the East Room of the White House, Tuesday, Feb. 4, 2025, in Washington (AP)

Rift widens: Trump, Netanyahu clash in heated phone call over Iran

  • Politics
  • 26 May 2025
US judges quietly consider private security amid Trump tensions

US judges quietly consider private security amid Trump pressures

  • US & Canada
  • 25 May 2025
An Israeli army vehicle moves in the Gaza Strip as seen from southern occupied Palestine, Thursday, May 29, 2025 (AP)

Hamas rejects Witkoff ceasefire plan, says alters terms

  • Politics
  • 29 May 2025
Spokesperson for the Yemeni Armed Forces, Brigadier General Yahya Saree, announces a new operation against Ben Gurion Airport on May 29, 2025 (Yemeni Military Media)

Yemen announces successful hypersonic missile strike on Ben Gurion

  • Politics
  • 30 May 2025

Coverage

All
War on Gaza

Read Next

All
MIT bans class president who gave pro-Palestine speech
US & Canada

MIT bans class president over pro-Palestine speech

Arab ministers condemn Israel 'ban' on planned West Bank visit
Politics

Arab ministers condemn Israeli ban on planned West Bank visit

Major General Hu Gangfeng, Vice President, National Defense University, People's Liberation Army, China, leaves after a panel discussion during the 22nd Shangri-La Dialogue summit in Singapore, Saturday, May 31, 2025. (AP Photo/Anupam Nath)
Politics

China blasts Hegseth, calls US top 'troublemaker' in Asia-Pacific

US activists demand shutdown of Musk's 'dirty' supercomputer: Reports
Technology

US activists demand shutdown of Musk's 'dirty' supercomputer: NBC News

Al Mayadeen English

Al Mayadeen is an Arab Independent Media Satellite Channel.

All Rights Reserved

  • x
  • Privacy Policy
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Authors
Android
iOS