Monkeypox is not like COVID-19 — and that’s a good thing

Becky Sullivan, Michaeline D’Clef

Recent headlines about the sudden emergence of anomalous illnesses spread on a case-by-case basis across countries and continents, and may evoke memories of early 2020 for some.

But monkeypox is not COVID-19 — in a good way.

Health authorities around the world are paying their attention New outbreak of monkeypoxA virus commonly found in Central and Western Africa, has occurred in Europe and the United States, even for those who have never traveled to Africa in recent weeks.

However, experts say it is important for public health officials to pay attention to monkeypox, but like COVID-19, it is very unlikely that the virus will be involved in an uncontrolled pandemic. It is about.

“Let’s immediately say that monkeypox and COVID are not the same disease,” Dr. Rosamund Luis, Secretary-General of the World Health Organization, said in a public Q & A session on Monday.

For starters, monkeypox does not spread much easier than COVID-19. Scientists have been studying monkeypox since it was first discovered in humans over 50 years ago. And the similarity with smallpox means that smallpox can fight in many of the same ways.

As a result, scientists already know how monkeypox spreads, how it appears, and how to treat and contain it.

Here are some other ways in which the public health approach to monkeypox differs from COVID-19:

Scientists already know how it spreads, and it’s different from COVID

Monkeypox usually requires very close contact to spread — most often skin-to-skin contact, or prolonged physical contact with clothing or bedding used by an infected person.

In contrast, COVID-19 spreads quickly and easily. The coronavirus can spread by talking to others, sharing a room, and, rarely, just being in the room where the infected person was previously.

“The transmission actually results from close physical contact, skin-to-skin contact, which is quite different from COVID,” said Dr. Maria Van Kerkhove, an infectious disease epidemiologist at WHO. Said.

A typical symptom of monkeypox is a rash that often begins on the face and spreads to the limbs and other parts of the body.

Dr. Boghuma Kabisen Titanji, an infectious disease specialist and virologist at Emory University in Atlanta, said:

According to experts, there are several different patterns in the current outbreak. In particular, the rash may start first in the genital area and not spread throughout the body.

In any case, experts say that the spread of the virus is usually due to physical contact with the rash.

“If you overtake someone in a grocery store, you’re not at risk of monkeypox,” said Dr. Jennifer McQuiston of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. At the briefing on Monday..

She said that the most likely risk was close personal contact with infected people, such as family members and health care workers.

“Over the years, the best way to deal with a case is to isolate the sick, prevent the virus from spreading to close family members and loved ones, and actively follow up. Patients have symptoms. We are in contact so that we can monitor. “

With this version of the virus, people generally recover in 2-4 weeks, scientists find it, and the mortality rate is less than 1%.

Monkeypox is less contagious than COVID-19

One factor that helped COVID-19 spread rapidly around the world was the fact that it was highly contagious. This is even more true for variants that have emerged in the last year...

Epidemiologists point to the R0 value of the disease, the average number of people expected to inherit the disease.

R0 must be higher than 1 for the outbreak of the disease to spread. For the original version of COVID-19 The number was somewhere between 2 and 3.. For the Omicron variant, that number is about eight. In recent research..

The recent epidemic of monkeypox is alarming, but according to Jo Walker, an epidemiologist at the Graduate School of Public Health, the virus is much less contagious than COVID-19.

“Most estimates from previous outbreaks were that R0 was less than 1, which could lead to clusters of cases, and even outbreaks, but eventually disappear spontaneously,” they said. Stated. “It can spread among humans, but it is not very efficient in a way that can maintain itself without being constantly reintroduced from the animal population.”

This is a major reason why public health authorities, including WHO, have expressed confidence that monkeypox cases will not suddenly surge. “This is a containable situation,” Wankelhoff said in a public session on Monday.

Monkeypox is closely associated with smallpox, so there is already a vaccine

Both monkeypox and smallpox are members of the orthopox family of viruses. smallpoxIt once killed millions of people each year, but was eradicated in 1980 by the success of a global vaccine campaign.

WHO says the smallpox vaccine is about 85% effective against monkeypox. The effect diminishes over time,..

“These viruses are closely related to each other and are now benefiting from all these years of research, diagnosis, treatment, and vaccines that affect the current situation,” said Lewis of WHO. I am.

Some countries, including the United States, have smallpox vaccines as a strategic reserve in case the virus reappears. Currently, these can be used to contain the outbreak of monkeypox.

The FDA has two vaccines that have already been approved for use against smallpox.

1, A double dose vaccine called Jynneos, Also approved for use against monkeypox.About 1000 doses are possible Strategic national stockpileAccording to the CDC, the company plans to offer more products in the coming months.

Dr. Raj Panjabi of the White House Pandemic Office said, “We already have effective treatments and vaccines to prevent people infected with monkeypox from getting monkeypox and treating those affected. We have been working to ensure a sufficient supply of. ” In an interview with NPR..