Geneva (awp/afp) – The head of the World Health Organization (WHO) has decided to trigger the highest level of alert to try to stem the outbreak of monkeypox, which first affects men with sex with men, but he strongly warned on Saturday against any stigmatization of the sick.
“I have decided to declare a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (USPPI) for the monkeypox rash,” Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said at a press briefing, noting that the risk in the world was relatively moderate except in Europe where it is high.
Dr Tedros pointed out that at present, “this outbreak is concentrated among men who have sex with men, and particularly those who have multiple partners, which means that it can be stopped. with the right strategies in the right group”.
“It is essential that all countries work closely with communities of men who have sex with men” to provide them with assistance and information, insisted the boss of the WHO.
Stigma and discrimination ___
“These measures must protect the health, human rights and dignity of the affected community”, wished Dr Tedros, hammering: “stigma and discrimination can be as dangerous as any virus”.
The discriminatory treatment and hostility inflicted on patients infected with the AIDS virus is on everyone’s mind, both in the communities affected and in the leadership of the WHO, all the more so because it makes patients reluctant to cure.
Since early May, when it was detected outside African countries where it is endemic, the disease has struck more than 16,836 people in 74 countries, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) dashboard. as of July 22.
While health authorities in the United Kingdom, one of the epicentres of the disease, have reported a drop in the rate of contagion, the number of cases is increasing rapidly around the world.
A Nigerian man who had left Thailand after becoming the country’s first case of monkeypox was found in Phnom Penh, Cambodia on Saturday and taken to hospital, according to the Cambodian Ministry of Health.
Dr. Tedros explained that the expert committee had been divided, with nine votes against a USPPI against six votes in favor of such a measure. In the end, it was he who decided.
“It’s a call to action, but it’s not the first,” said Mike Ryan, the WHO’s emergency manager, who said he hoped it would lead to collective action against disease.
The USPPI qualification is used in “serious, sudden, unusual or unexpected” situations. This is only the 7th time that the WHO has used this level of alert.
During a first meeting on June 23, the majority of the experts of the Emergency Committee had recommended to Dr. Tedros not to declare a USPPI.
Why ? ___
First detected in humans in 1970, monkeypox is less dangerous and contagious than its cousin human smallpox, eradicated in 1980.
In most cases, the patients are men who have sex with men, relatively young, and living mainly in towns.
A study published Thursday in the scientific journal New England Journal of Medicine confirms that in 95% of recent cases, the disease was transmitted during sexual contact and 98% of those affected were gay or bisexual men.
How did we go from a virus that generally passed from animals to humans, with human transmission often limited to the family in the countries of West Africa, where it is endemic, to a transmission in dozens of countries?
Taking advantage of a world that has reopened lately, the virus has traveled and managed to settle in a group where it can circulate more actively due to social habits (frequent meetings, sexual relations with several partners, etc. ), explained Rosamund Lewis, the WHO’s leading expert on monkeypox.
She does not rule out new modes of transmission through sexual activity, but she points out that data is lacking at this time.
Pointing out that the mainly affected group is generally very active in terms of health, tending to report, diagnose and help each other, she believes that the battle can be won.
Recommended vaccination ___
On Friday, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) said it had approved the use of a human smallpox vaccine to expand its use against the spread of monkeypox. This vaccine is in fact already used for this purpose in several countries, including France.
The Imvanex vaccine, from Danish company Bavarian Nordic, has been approved in the EU since 2013 for the prevention of smallpox.
The WHO recommends vaccinating those most at risk as well as health workers likely to be confronted with the disease.
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