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DAKAR, Senegal – In the part of Nigeria that has been battling monkeypox outbreaks for years, a doctor saw the photos circulating in the Western media this week and laughed.
“These are a lot severe cases, “said Ouele Tomori, a virologist in the southwestern part of the country. Like, “Ah! This is monkeypox! ”
The virus – discovered five decades ago in the Democratic Republic of the Congo – causes mild illness in most people, he said, along with blisters that usually clear in weeks. It is much less transmitted by the coronavirus and much less deadly than Ebola. An effective vaccine is already available.
What worries infectious disease experts across the continent is the double standard that has emerged since monkeypox caught the world’s attention: few seemed to be interested or even noticed until people in the West began to get sick.
In the last two weeks, cases of the animal-borne virus, commonly found in West and Central Africa, have surfaced in the United States, Canada, Australia, Israel and a growing number of European countries. There are at least 92 confirmed infections and no deaths. Belgium imposed a 21-day quarantine. President Biden assured Americans that the United States has enough vaccine supplies to deal with the threat.
Yet global concerns have not sounded, as several African nations have been battling outbreaks in recent months. Graphic images blazing on social media – some of the same used to illustrate monkey measles in the 1970s – rarely depict white patients.
“These cases have been registered in Europe,” Tomori said. “Why do you use a picture of an African?” These are your measles. “
The World Health Organization has not yet confirmed the origin of the epidemic, although a WHO adviser told the Associated Press that the cases may be related to raves in Spain and Belgium. Monkeypox is usually spread through close contact, including sexual activity.
Health officials suspect the virus has traveled unnoticed in non-endemic countries for some time – potentially as early as 2018. Early tests show the cases stem from a West African strain that the WHO said has a mortality rate of about 1 percent.
Before the monkeypox struck the West this year, the WHO said Nigeria, Cameroon and the Central African Republic had registered a small number of cases. But contact tracking is limited, said Jaap Boom, a Cameroonian epidemiologist. Infections usually occur in remote, wooded areas, where humans encounter wild animals that carry monkeypox, such as primates and rodents.
“Maybe now that it’s happening there, the problem will get more attention,” Bohm said, “and we’ll get access to more vaccines, more treatments – all things we didn’t have the money for.”
The Democratic Republic of the Congo is battling the world’s largest outbreak so far: at least 1,238 cases and 57 deaths since January. The strain found there is also much more deadly, with a mortality rate of up to 10 percent. Many deaths are preventable, doctors said, but it can be difficult to find treatment in areas with underfunded hospitals.
“This can be as devastating as covid-19,” said Health Minister Jean-Jacques Mbungani. But monkey pox preparations in the country lost steam during the pandemic. The nation needs more tests, more inoculations, more health workers to monitor cases and care for the sick.
“The response is not effective,” Mbungani said, “and remains lethargic due to lack of resources.”
As monkeypox cases increase in Europe and other parts of the globe, health authorities are concerned about the unusual growth. (Video: Alexa Juliana Ard, Meryl Cornfield / Washington Post)
The European Center for Disease Prevention and Control said on Monday that most of the documented cases were minor. Young children, pregnant women and people with weakened immune systems are at increased risk.
One of the best experts on genomic sequencing in Nigeria, Christian Happy, invites his colleagues to come and study how his country has dealt with monkeypox.
“It’s not that scary here,” he said. “People are used to it. Come learn from our public health authorities. Come and see how we contain it. “
Global enthusiasm to fight the virus should have arrived earlier, he said. Maybe it could already be eradicated.
“Paying attention to the disease, wherever it occurs, benefits everyone,” he said. “As the pandemic has shown us, we are all in this together.
Ombur reported from Nairobi.
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