2023-05-02 06:14:12
The WHO has declared an international emergency due to Mpox outbreaks in numerous countries in 2022. The number of cases has fallen by 90 percent, but the WHO has not given the all-clear, on the contrary.
One year following the beginning of a major outbreak, monkeypox is hardly an issue in Germany – for the World Health Organization (WHO), the pathogen is still one of the three most dangerous virus groups from the animal world. They should be constantly monitored. “We might have a virus variant in three years that is much less easy to contain – that’s a real risk,” said WHO monkeypox expert Rosamund Lewis of the dpa before a significant deadline. Exactly one year ago, a new sinister disease appeared in Europe: monkeypox, now called Mpox. Fear spread: will a new wave of disease hit the world as soon as the devastating coronavirus pandemic has subsided? Great Britain reported the first case to the WHO on May 7, 2022. Most of the newly affected countries have now brought the outbreaks under control once more.
The other two virus groups that WHO closely monitors are avian influenza viruses and viral diseases transmitted by Aedes mosquitoes, including dengue fever, yellow fever, zika and chikungunya.
The Mpox virus, which was practically only known from a few African countries, suddenly spread from person to person in other countries on a larger scale in 2022. More than 87,000 cases of Mpox have been reported to the WHO from 111 countries since the beginning of 2022 (as of April 25), including 130 deaths. A public health emergency of international scope (PHEIC) is still in force today. This is the highest alert that WHO can issue.
The virus might change and become more contagious
“It is worrying that it has stepped out of its ecological niche in Central and West Africa,” said Sylvie Briand, director of the WHO Epidemic and Pandemic Preparedness Division in Geneva. “The virus might change, become more contagious or infect a vulnerable population group that has previously been spared,” such as pregnant women or small children. “In these groups, the disease might take a much more severe course.” So far, men who have sex with men have been particularly affected.
Germany was among the ten countries with the highest case reports, behind the US with more than 30,000 cases, Brazil, Spain, France, Colombia, Mexico, Peru and the UK. That only says something regarding the distribution to a limited extent. Not all countries have a good surveillance system. According to the WHO, there are limited testing options, especially in African countries.
In Germany, almost 3,700 Mpox cases and no deaths have been reported to the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) since May 2022 (as of April 28). After a sharp increase, the number of cases fell significantly from August. The vast majority of those infected were men, with less than one percent women, adolescents and children. According to the RKI, no case has been registered since the end of January 2023. However, the RKI warns that the numbers might increase, for example if more events with many participants take place once more in spring.
There are three vaccines that significantly reduce the risk of infection. Mpox infection spreads among humans through close physical contact. It usually brings fever, headache and muscle pain and a skin rash with pustules. The virus probably originally came from small mammals such as sun or chipmunks or giant hamster rats. Mpox is related to the classic human pox virus, which has been eradicated since the 1980s and had raged for centuries.
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