Africa must be part of a united global fight against monkeypox as developed countries respond to unusual outbreaks of the disease, the World Health Organization’s (WHO) says.
Key points:
- Monkeypox is endemic in some African countries
- Cases in developed nations have sparked a flurry of scientific research into the disease
- The WHO is calling for lower-income nations to benefit from the fruits of that labour as well
“We must have one connected global response to monkeypox to avoid it becoming endemic in more countries,” D. Matshidiso Moeti, WHO Africa director, said in an online briefing.
As countries in the developed world find ways to limit the spread of monkeypox, “it is very important that … we make sure that we share those tools, we build capacities all over the world to respond to these outbreaks,” she said.
“What is extremely important now is to avert any potential for a repeat of the inequitable access to COVID-19 vaccines experienced by African countries early in the pandemic,” Dr Moeti said.
Monkeypox is a virus that can cause symptoms such as fever, aches and a distinctive bumpy rash.
It is ordinarily found in countries in West and Central Africa with tropical rainforests, but recently more than 550 confirmed cases of monkeypox have been reported by at least 30 countries outside of Africa, according to the WHO.
Many of the cases were reportedly tied to sexual activity at two recent raves in Europe.
While cases have been detected in Australia, Britain, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Switzerland, the United States and Israel, no deaths have been reported.
Cases of monkeypox were confirmed in Sydney and Melbourne last month.
Meanwhile, seven of Africa’s 54 countries have reported the disease and there have been about three times as many monkeypox cases as usual.
African nations lack testing capabilities
There have been more than 1,400 suspected monkeypox cases and 63 deaths in African countries where the disease is endemic — Cameroon, Central African Republic, Congo and Nigeria — according to the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
But Fiona Braka, who leads emergency operations at WHO Africa’s office in Brazzaville, Republic of Congo, said only 44 of those suspected cases had been confirmed.
Part of the reason for the wide gap between suspected and confirmed cases was the limited testing capacity in African countries, Dr Braka said.
She said just 10 countries in Africa were able to test for the disease.
She said more information about animal-to-human transmission, as well as human-to-human transmission, was needed.
Monkeypox is in the same family of viruses as smallpox. Smallpox vaccines are estimated to be about 85 per cent effective against monkeypox, according to the WHO.
Countries in the developed world have started using smallpox vaccines and are considering the use of antivirals to battle their outbreaks of the disease. Doctors in Africa say those resources should also be available to help them.
One of the worst-hit countries in Africa is Congo which, health authorities said this week, had 465 suspected cases and nine deaths from the disease this year.
‘We are not safe until everybody is safe’
Nigeria, one of the four African countries where monkeypox is endemic, has seen sporadic cases every year since 2017.
It has confirmed 21 monkeypox cases so far this year, according to Ifedayo Adetifa, head of the country’s centre for disease control.
Nigerian health authorities had scaled up a digital surveillance system which had helped in the early detection of cases, he said.
“It is important that we do all that we can to stop this,” Dr Adetifa said.
“We are in a globally connected world … we are not safe until everybody is safe.”
The biopharmaceutical industry has in recent weeks made commitments to deliver vaccines, treatments and develop more diagnostics to address monkeypox as the viral disease spreads in many parts of the developed world.
“We do have to recognise that this is not a new disease, this is not something that we just learned existed in the world,” Daniel Bausch, senior director of emerging threats and global health security at FIND, the global alliance for diagnostics, said.
“We have all this biotech interest now because this is happening in high-income countries.
“But how do we make sure that … those scientific gains really get down to the populations that need this more consistently in sub-Saharan Africa?”
The commentary comes as concern grows about pathogens that typically circulate in animals spilling into humans.
The WHO warned on Wednesday that animals and humans were changing their behaviour, including food-seeking habits, to adjust to rapidly changing weather conditions linked to climate change.
This suggests that pathogens that were once generally limited to certain geographies are more likely to spread further, and potentially jump back and forth between humans and susceptible animal species.
On Thursday, some health experts raised concerns monkeypox and other infectious diseases could be transmitted to animals via human medical waste.
They cautioned that constant vigilance and global cooperation was imperative to thwarting the current monkeypox outbreak.
William Karesh, president of the World Organisation for Animal Health working group on wildlife, said it was important to limit the number of spill-over events.
Wires/ABC
